Thrice The Tabby Cat Hath Mew'd
by Amandah Leigh
Summary: ADMM / MMAD - Minerva McGonagall leaves Hogwarts pregnant and alone, except for her three best friends Hooch, Sinistra and Pomfrey. She then returns to study with Albus Dumbledore. They have both been hurt before. Can they help each other learn to love?
1. By Wit and Not By Witchcraft

**Thrice The Tabby Cat Hath Mew'd**

_Summary: MMAD Minerva McGonagall finishes her last year at Hogwarts pregnant and alone, except for her three best friends - Rolanda 'Skipper' Hooch, Cicely Sinistra and Poppy Pomfrey. She soon returns to work on Animagus training with Dumbledore. Both Albus and Minerva have been hurt before. Can they teach each other how to love? _

_Rated M (R) for sexual situations/violence/references to rape, etc. Please read and review..._

_AD/MM (of course) with shades of MM/TR. _

**Chapter One:**

**"How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? Thou know'st we work by wit, and not by witchcraft..."**

**-Othello**

"Now, calm down Minerva. You're making me nervous!" Poppy Pomfrey told her friend as she watched her pace about Hogwarts' Hospital Wing.

"You just don't understand, Poppy," said Minerva, stopping her repetitive movements for a moment to focus on her chum. "My family is going to kill me! I won't become an Animagus! I'll never find a job! My life is over!"

Poppy, rolling her eyes, slid off of the counter on which she had been seated and went to put an arm around Minerva's shoulders. "Don't panic, Min—"

"Oh, but it seems to be such a perfect time to panic, does it not?" Minerva exclaimed. She resumed her pacing, and Poppy returned to her spot on the counter.

They remained that way in silence for several minutes before Minerva spoke again. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? It takes so awfully long, doesn't it? What if your mum comes in?"

"Calm down, Minerva," said Poppy again. "I know what I'm doing. Healing runs in my family. They don't call me the mini-medi-witch for nothing! And she won't come in in the middle of the night. It'll all be okay, I promise!"

Minerva sighed and sat beside her mate on the counter and rest a hand uneasily over her stomach. "I hope you're right."

Throughout childhood Minerva had been studious, serious, clever and unemotional. She hadn't had many friends prior to beginning her education at Hogwarts, and she wasn't exactly close to her mother and older, married sisters. It actually wasn't until the age of twelve when she had made her first very best friend, then-eleven-year-old Poppy Shayne Pomfrey. Poppy was a vibrant, excitable, popular and energetic child, but she and Minerva got along well and had immediate sister-like chemistry from the moment they sat beside each other on the train. They remembered each other a little from their younger days, when both would be at Hogwarts over the summer holidays or vacations, Minerva with her father, then-Charms professor Lennox McGonagall, and Poppy trying to escape her overbearing parents, the school nurse and a professor. The two girls would meet up and explore the castle together, while Minerva's father's Patronus, an eagle, followed them around, in case they should end up in any trouble.

"He watches us like a hawk," Poppy once joked, causing Minerva to choke on the cinnamon flavored Bertie Botts bean she'd just popped in her mouth. Poppy giggled. She had enjoyed employing the use of puns from an early age, something that appealed to Minerva, also a witty lover of words.

Rounding out their little group of friends were two other girls, Rolanda "Skipper" Hooch, Minerva's tough and mouthy roommate, and Cicely Sinistra, a dark and moody Gryffindor in Poppy's year whose early alliance with the other three had happened almost accidentally. The four girls were very different in terms of mannerisms, upbringing, personality, preferences, and attitudes, but they shared a strong bond and a common goal: To one day return to Hogwarts as members of the staff.

Poppy Pomfrey was probably closest to attaining the goal, despite only being in her sixth year, as she was already expected to follow in her mediwitch mother's footsteps when Prudence was set to retire. Prudence Callington had been Hogwart's Healing Nurse for over a decade before she wed Herbology teacher Heckle Pomfrey twenty years ago, and Poppy was their only offspring. As both of her parents were teachers, Poppy had practically been raised in Hogwarts halls, hence she knew the castle better than anyone. Like her mother, slightly pudgy Poppy had curly reddish-blonde hair, an upturned nose and a scattering of freckles. Their looks (and bossiness) were the only traits the two shared. Poppy also possessed some fearless quality that Minerva, though brave herself, often envied.

Minerva's father, as previously mentioned, had also been a Hogwarts professor, first of Muggle Studies and later, Charms. He loved Hogwarts, staying at the school all week and visiting his wife and three daughters on weekends. He died when Minerva was nine years old, and though she sometimes felt like she hardly knew him, she missed him terribly. He, unlike the female McGonagalls, understood her; he shared her love of books, animals, and knowledge. He had spent more time with her than anyone else. Whenever he was home he was teaching her practical lessons and basic charms, reading Muggle fairy tales to her, and schooling her in the art of chess. She looked most like him too, medium height, and thin with raven black hair that she always, always had tied tight back, despite how long and beautiful it was down. She also inherited her father's smart, expressive green eyes.

Rolanda Hooch, called Skipper, was also from an all-magic family. Her father, Skip Hooch (from whom she got her nickname) was a fabulous Quiddich Seeker, who played for the Chudley Cannons for many years, and her mother, Xiomara Messerschmidt Hooch, worked in the Ministry of Magic as Magical Ambassador to Germany, her native country. Skipper had inherited her father's love of flight, and, lucky for the Gryffindors, she also inherited his talent on the Quiddich pitch. Skipper seemed a name most fitting of the mischievous but typically rule-abiding brunette who could never help but to say what she was thinking. She kept her curly hair just long enough to be put in a ponytail, necessary to keep it away from her eyes during the matches. Rolanda had only one sibling, her 28 year old sister Liesl, an unforgettable beauty who married Wingtown Wanderer Seeker Donovan Parkin one year after leaving Hogwarts. They had no children, but spent their free time travelling all over the world, which made Rolanda just the slightest bit jealous, as she'd never been anywhere outside of Europe.

The last of their little quartet, Cicely Sinistra, was a mysterious, quiet half-blood who came to Hogwarts in the middle of Minerva's second year from a small wizarding school in America. The girl was Britain-born, but for reasons unknown even to her friends, Cicely's mother had moved to the States ten years earlier, when she was nearly seven, and they returned when she had just turned twelve, just after her mother's second divorce. One thing Cicely did explain was her name, which had originally been Aurora Osbourne. "I was named for my father's mother, and when he left my Mum, she wanted to erase all trace of him, so at the age of three she had it changed to Cicely and gave me her maiden name, Sinistra. She changed my last name again when she married a second time, but when we returned to England I fought with her until she agreed to let me have Sinistra back. And I'll never change my name again, not for anybody, ever."

Cicely was sorted into Gryffindor, which came as a surprise to nearly everyone on her mother's side of the family, who fully expected that she'd be in Slytherin as all of the Sinistras before her had been. Cicely had little patience for the other girls in her house, save for Poppy, though she quickly connected with then third-year Rolanda Hooch. Minerva rather liked Cicely, despite her unpredictable mood swings. She found the girl generally honest but secretive, and, on occasion, a trifle frightening. She was very interested in only three subjects offered at Hogwarts, the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, and though she hardly seemed the starry-eyed sort, Astronomy. Cicely was of average height and weight, with flawless porcelain-white skin and deep brown eyes. She was much more developed than her three friends, skinny Minerva, pudgy Poppy and athletic Rolanda, thus many boys had immense, intense crushes on her. She had naturally dark brown hair, though she often colored it with Muggle dye, so it was no surprise to see her with blonde, auburn, jet-black or purple streaks, a fact that often got her called into Headmaster Dippet's office.

The four girls stuck together through everything in their years of Hogwarts, good and bad, thick and thin…and yet Minerva could only bring herself to tell one girl of her current dilemma.

"Okay, Min, should be ready by now. Want me to check it for you?" Poppy said to Minerva, sliding again off the counter.

"Yes. No…Wait." Suddenly, Minerva didn't want to know.

Poppy sighed and took her friend's hand. "Knowing will be so much better than…not."

"But if I…If I am…Oh, Poppy! I simply cannot have a…What am I going to do?"

"Stop crying. Here, wipe your eyes," Poppy commanded, handing the older girl a clean rag from the pocket of her robe.

"Okay," agreed Minerva, uncharacteristically sniffling as she brushed away her tears. "Let's find out."

She reached for the handle to the door that would lead them into Prudence Callington-Pomfrey's office when suddenly, it opened for them.

The girls stood motionless, frozen, rooted to the ground as the door continued to move and in a moment they were face to face with-

"Oh no," breathed Poppy, as Minerva clutched her hand. "Professor Dumbledore."

_A/N I started this before OOTP, and I played a bit with years, namely, Riddle's age has been altered to make him the same age as MM, not seven yrs younger, and Dumbledore is not as old as he is in the books b/c I am a mega admm fan but I don't like too great an age difference, at least when mm is so young, so they are 32 years apart (sry)…I have also made several Hogwarts staff members around the same age though I've no idea whether they are or not, and I made up a first name for Professor Sinistra, the (future) astronomy teacher. :) AL_

_PS I start each chapter with a Shakespeare quote, as my title, "Thrice The Tabby Cat Hath Mew'd," is taken from Macbeth, and Minerva is, later, a Tabby Cat. Plus, I like Shakespeare. So there ya go. ;)_

_PS#2 I've noticed that a lot of people on here post disclaimers within their stories. That seems a little silly considering the fact that it's a website dedicated to fanfiction, thus a disclaimer seems almost redundant, that having been said I don't want to feel left out so just let me go on record as saying that I am not JK Rowling. I'm sure that comes as a shock... lol _


	2. To Lock Up Honesty

**Chapter Two:**

**"Here's ado to lock up honesty, And honor from the access of gentle visitors." **

**- A Winter's Tale**

"Miss McGonagall, Miss Pomfrey, out of bed so very late?" He asked, eyes twinkling, looking over the girls with mild curiosity. To find Poppy Pomfrey breaking curfew was nothing new for Albus (or any other professor) but Minerva McGonagall was not the type to sneak out after dark.

"So very sorry, professor, but is it after curfew? I was wondering, see, it's so _very_ quiet in here after all, and my mother nowhere in sight! See, um, we came in here earlier, well, Minerva had a _terrible_ headache, so after I got her something for the pain, just helping, as all good friends should, well, see I wanted to wait with her to feel better, and fancy this! We both seem to have fallen asleep!" A hint of laughter danced merrily over her words. "Silly, I know! But, see, now we are _quite_ awake, and on our way back to the common room, just as we should be!" She smiled somewhat cheekily, as if to say, 'oops!'

"If only you were not destined to follow your mother and grandmother, and their grandmothers, into healing, my dear Miss Pomfrey you would make a terrific stage actress. You know, they have a magical theatre group just outside London now, perhaps you should visit it sometime?" His eyes were still sparkling. Minerva caught herself staring at them, most enchanted. 'Stop it!' she ordered herself. He's a professor. He's so much older! And you have a boyfriend… Sort of…' she sighed quietly, mentally adding, 'Some boyfriend to get me in this mess.'

Dumbledore shifted his gaze to the young raven-haired girl. She tried to control her breathing, to keep her voice from shaking as he looked her over inquisitively.

"'It'll never happen again sir," she said in a surprisingly strong tone. 'Can he read minds?' She wondered as his piercing blue eyes continued to gaze into her green ones. 'I certainly hope not!'

"Well, girls," his looked back at Poppy; Minerva felt herself exhale a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Off to bed now. No detention, this time, but ten points from Gryffindor, Poppy. You've already been spoken to about this."

"Will you tell my Mum?" Poppy asked, showing a tiny bit of the fear she often felt but rarely showed.

"Fear not, your secrets, er, secret, is safe with me. Good night."

With that, he turned around and left the hospital wing.

"What wonderful luck!" Poppy said to Minerva for about the thirtieth time on their walk back to the common room. "Not even a detention! I've always liked that Dumbledore. What a wonderful man, eh? Any other teacher would have dragged me straight to Mum, but all he did was take house points! And just from me! Oh, I love him! Well, I mean, I don't love him, but you know… he's pretty wonderful."

"Yes, yes, wonderful," agreed an entirely preoccupied Minerva, who was still fretting not only about the results of her test, but over what would happen if they can't get to Nurse Pomfrey's office before her the next morning. Minerva could only imagine the medi-witch's reaction to such a thing, and surely she would know it was left there by Poppy and one of her friends…surely she would guess… and surely Dumbledore would guess…what would he think of her then? He would, no doubt, be disappointed in his potential prodigy, and maybe even disgusted. Minerva's face flushed red with shame. It seemed to take forever and yet no time at all to get back to the portrait over the entrance of the common room.

"Ishkabibil!" Poppy whispered to the Fat Lady, who glared at them for waking her up but said nothing. She swung open and the girls entered, making their ways to their bedrooms, Minerva with the four other seventh year girls, and Poppy, a year younger, with her class.

Minerva walked silently to her bed and personal area, next to the window, past Skipper's bed. She had the urge to wake her friend, to spill all of her secrets that she had been sharing only with Poppy the last two months, her relationship with…him…and how it had gotten so terribly…physical…despite her protests. But she knew that, though she would be kind and supportive, Rolanda would in some way look down on her friend for being so easily made into a…a…It hurt Minerva to even think it. A…whore!

Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. She tried, to no avail, to refrain from allowing the burning salty tears to fall down her cheeks, which she couldn't help thinking was stupid as no one would know if she cried. 'Oh, but wouldn't Skipper give me hell,' she thought bitterly, 'crying like an infant, a sure sign of weakness she'd see it as.' Heckle Hooch's daughter was many things, but one thing she had never been was weak. Her father had never allowed her to cry, as he planned to raise her as his only son, and thought she tried to be sympathetic to her often melodramatic friends she had little patience for such "ridiculous emotional outbursts."

Rather than wake the sleeping girl, Minerva lay down on her own four poster bed, thinking again of how very disappointed Dumbledore would be if she were caught out of bed again tonight, after he so kindly let them off as easily as he did. She fell asleep almost immediately, and began to dream. But her dreams, unsettling and cruel, were not merely figments of her overworked, overtired mind, but fragments of her memories that she had hoped to hide away, memories she did not wish to share with her friends.

He was tall, charming, and incredibly handsome. Every girl at Hogwarts was just about in love with him, despite the fact that he had long ago been sorted into Slytherin, which, ordinarily, would be a turn-off for the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. He was tall and smart and handsome, with luscious deep brown eyes and jet-black hair, creamy pale skin and straight, white teeth. Everyone's Golden Boy. She had not fallen for him the way the rest of her crew (save for Cicely) obviously had, fawning over him and sighing over him and gossiping incessantly about him, nor had she openly pined for him like the other idiot girls in the school. Perhaps that is why, in their fifth year, he began to take such a interest in her. She was so much smarter than the other girls, he often told her. More mature. More driven. More unobtainable. Classy.

And she bought every word.

Sometimes she wondered about his loyalties though, and about his intentions. At first, he made her keep their relationship a secret from everyone (well, everyone except Poppy) and he hardly wanted to be seen with in anywhere, except in Transfiguration. She figured maybe he was just trying to make someone in the class jealous, but she could not quite figure who, as the two houses also had Herbology together and he ignored her entirely in that. But as they entered their sixth year, things began to change. The school held a Yule Ball, and he invited her to go. They still told very few people of their dating status, but became very close, like friends. She visited him at the orphanage during the summer, and he stayed a week with her family despite her sister's warning that such a thing would be "so very scandalous!"

"Mariah," Minerva had assured her sister, "our relationship is hardly the thing romance novels are made of. We're friends, that's all. And we went to a dance together once."

"Well, just as long as you don't go doing something typical of your age. I mayb be in my late twenties, but I know what you teenagers are up to! I've heard them all talking down in Hogsmeade, these kids your age! Trollops and imbeciles, the lot of you!" snapped McKayla, the eldest McGonagall offspring, age twenty-eight going on seventy-five.

"Oh shut it, Mickey!" Mariah broke in. "Minerva knows what she's doing and anyway, she's not like that! I'm not worried about her actually doing those things, I'm worried about the possibly implication of improper conduct. People talk, that's all, even when there's not really anything to talk about. I'm simply thinking of her reputation here! I know she's not actually that type of girl, no matter what the other teenagers are doing." Mariah continued, surprisingly coming to Min's defense. The two rarely got along, as Mariah had spent their childhood siding with McKayla over Minerva, but the more pretentious, snobbish and snide Mickey got as she grew older, the more Mariah tended to back up her younger sister instead.

But Mariah surely would not be supporting her now.

Minerva tossed and turned in bed, upset by her dreams, her nightmares, her memories.

They had started as every couple, hand holding, short kisses that grew to passionate "make out sessions" that her friends would die to know she'd been involved in. Especially Cicely, she was always saying that her chums needed to "get out more" and "experience life" which basically meant "going on dates" and "putting out." But Minerva was not like that. Not at all…

It was he who wanted to take things further. She had argued with him, and then one night during Easter Holidays, they had a four day break and he invited her to visit him at his new home, a rented room at the Black Heart Inn located on the corner of Knockturn Alley and Haberdash Place, two small wizard streets near Diagon Alley.

He was drinking.

He wanted her.

He was used to getting what he wanted.

Afterwards she cried, pulled on her invisibility-charmed cloak, bewitched her broom so that it, too, was invisible and flew to Cicely's house, which was nearby. She didn't tell Cicely exactly what had upset her, only that she would no longer be seeing "that awful boy." She was sure that Cicely could fill in the blanks without a formal explanation, and she was right.

"Don't feel bad," Cicely had comforted her dryly, smoking a Muggle cigarette on the back porch of her large, empty house. "I bunked him too, you know. Very persuasive, that Tom Riddle."

Okay, the first two chapters are up. I posted them both today b/c I hate havign the first one called "default chapter" lol...So please review! Pretty please? With a cherry on top?

:) AL


	3. We Have Seen Better Days

**Chapter Three:**

**Early The Next Morning**

**"True is it that we have seen better days". --As You Like It.**

"Wake up, Min! We have to get down to Mum's office before she does! Min? Minerva!"

Minerva awoke to find herself being shaken by Poppy, who was standing over her, so close to Minerva that her shoulder length curls tickled the elder girl's nose.

"Wha—hmm? Poppy? I'm tired, Poppy," Minerva mumbled, rolling over onto her side. Poppy promptly grabbed her friend's shoulder and pushed it down on the bed so she was again flat on her back.

"Minerva! Good morning? Don't you remember what we left in--"

Suddenly Minerva bolted upright. "Your mum's office! Come on, Poppy, why didn't you wake me sooner! Let's go!"

Poppy stood back up and looked at her chum with one eyebrow raised. "Care to dress for the day first, m'lady? Hurry though, Breakfast has already started and Mum will probably finish soon enough."

Poppy slipped through the canopy that draped all the way down from above the bed to the floor so that Minerva might have some privacy.

Minerva picked out a long gothic dark purple dress with a crimson lace-up bodice to wear under her robes. It had belonged to her sister Mariah pre-motherhood, and though it did not suit her style or personality at all it was her favorite article of clothing. It was Saturday, which meant that students could wear more or less whatever they desired under their Hogwarts Wizard Robes, standard issue uniform. Poppy, whose robe was open as usual, donned a peppy cerulean blue sweater and a knee-length gray skirt. She longed to wear slacks, but alas her formidable, old-fashioned mother did not approve.

When Minerva stepped out from behind the canopy, Poppy sighed loudly. "Oh, Minerva, how lucky you are to wear such a thing! It's ruddy stunning! Mum would kill me if I tried to go about in that!"

"No one will ever see it," Minerva reminded her pal as she did up her robe, completely covering the thick velvet and silk materials of the skirt-part and bodice.

Poppy shook her head in dismay. "Why bother to wear it then, eh?"

"Because, dear Poppy," said Minerva with an air of sadness, "It makes me feel…beautiful."

The girls paused for a moment, lost in thought.

"Shall I begin playing my violin now, eh?" Asked Poppy after a minute's pause. She pretended to wipe away a tear.

"Oh shut it," Minerva ordered her, and led the way out of the bedroom. She and Poppy scurried along the corridors until they reached their destination: Prudence Pomfrey's Office.

"I told Skipper and Cicely that I needed to get something back that me mum had taken from me, some bully story, and they're supposed to keep Mum in the Great Hall until we get there, but you know how tough that'll be with her."

"Let's just get in and get out," Minerva said, nervously wrapping her arms around her body as if it were very cold in the castle.

Poppy went first; Minerva couldn't look.

When she turned around, her face was white as a sheet.

"Merlin's beard, Minerva. You're pregnant."

* * *

Minerva wasn't sure what had happened to her upon hearing her worst fear confirmed, but when she awoke several minutes (or hours? Or days?) later, she was lying on one of the hospital beds, Poppy seated to her left, Nurse Pomfrey standing to her right. 

Minerva stammered something unintelligible, as thoughts pummeled through her brain at top speed. Did Prudence know of her secret? Had Poppy told her the circumstances? How long had she been passed out? "What happened? Am I…I'm…?"

"Don't you recall?" Poppy cut in. "You were feeling faint this morning, and I suggested we stop here on the way to breakfast to get something for your headache; I didn't think Mum would mind, and then you got dizzy and fainted, right here on the floor! Luckily Mum arrived a few moments later, I was having quite a time trying to figure out what to do with you."

"I'm sure you just need to eat something, dear," said Prudence gently, conjuring up a small basket of blueberry muffins and a glass of Orange Juice. Poppy, try not to devour her breakfast for her, will you? Merlin knows you hardly need the extra. Look at you, Minerva! Eat, eat! You're far too thin, that's just the trouble, we need to put some weight on you," Prudence said, pushing the muffins towards her.

"Don't worry, mum, I'm sure she'll manage to gain a pound or two," snapped Poppy irritably, obviously still stung by her mother's jibe at the bit of baby fat that could still be found in her face and stomach.

"Hush, you. Haven't you got something you should be doing? No, it's Saturday, eh? Well, you stay here and nurse the patient then for a bit, make sure she eats, and do drink the juice Minerva, really. I'll be in my office, I have an Owl to reply to from St. Mungos, and Poppy when you go send Davenswallows up here so he can fly it over for me."

"Yes, Mummy."

When the nurse was back in her office, Poppy apologized to Minerva. "I just hate it when she digs at me like that, you understand. I'd never tell her, ever."

"I know," Minerva said weakly, taking a bite of her muffin despite her nausea. "Thank you."

* * *

A/N sorry it took so long to update, the disc I saved it to got ruined so I had to wait until I could get back to the computer I wrote it on...I hope you like it! Please review...I plan to put chapter four up in a couple of days, depending on how this chapter is received and what y'all think, I may change it a little...Thanks! AL 


	4. This is the Worst

**Chapter Four:**

**A Study in the Sun**

**"The worst is not, So long as we can say, 'This is the worst.'" --King Lear**

Five weeks later, Minerva was more or less used to the nausea that plagued her almost every morning. She had not told Tom Riddle of the position he had put her in, as she had refused to speak to him since that horrible night over Easter break. She was precisely nine weeks pregnant, and about to take her final exams, her _final_ final exams, her NEWTS. She had gained four pounds since her trip to the hospital wing, but she attributed the weight to the fact that her friends and Nurse Prudence were always watching her carefully, to make sure she was eating.

Her sister Mariah had just last week given birth to her third child, a boy. For a few moments after receiving the Owl Minerva considered discussing the dilemma with her sibling, but she quickly dismissed the notion as a bad idea.

The quartet was preparing for exams as they had every year, taking all their books outside whenever the weather permitted and studying on the grass. Minerva was worried about only one of her exams, Transfiguration. It was her favorite subject, and she naturally excelled in it, but as she planned (well, hoped) to make it a career, it was imperative she do incredibly well. She wanted more than anything, ever since childhood, to become an Animagus. She didn't know what her animal form would be, but she hoped for something proud, clever and fierce, and yet inconspicuous enough that she may be able to do some good in an intelligence capacity. She wanted to teach, eventually, but she also wanted to help the wizarding world that had given her so very much. In particular, she had recently heard of a Dark Wizard who was rising up, going by the name of Grindelwald. Her mentor, Albus Dumbledore, had told her all about him. She rather admired her Professor (who taught Transfiguration, of course) and though she was far to shy to tell him as much, she aspired to be just like him.

It was Saturday again, the last weekend before exams were to begin, and the weather was beautiful. The girls, as usual, decided to sit outside in the sun to study. They found a spot on the crowded grounds of Hogwarts, as secluded as they could find without venturing into the lake or forest, and for a few moments simply watched the other students.

Cicely, making sure no teachers or staff or prefect (except Minerva) were present, promptly lit up a cigarette. Her hair was raven black that day, with a three or four shocking bright purple streaks. The color was finely complimented by her tight purple short-sleeved shirt, something she had bought at an eerie Muggle shop in Salem on vacation the year before. She was also wearing pants, another oddity for girls in the late 1930s, and her robe was spread out under her over the grass like a blanket. She was sitting with one leg in an Indian-style position, and the other positioned so that her knee was the right height to lean her chin on while lost in thought.

Skipper, who had just recently decided that perhaps people ought to start calling her by her proper name, was wearing the white button down shirt from their uniforms sans the gray vest that went over it, and her favorite brown skirt, her robes on, as was school rule, but open to allow her legs to feel the cool summer breeze. She lay on her stomach, book opened in front of her, legs kicked up behind her, ankles crossed. Her broom was lying beside her, in case she suddenly needed to take off. Lucky for her, ever since her second year, when girls were first permitted to join the house team, they had been permitted (and required) to wear pants or shorts under their skirts and Quiddich robes. Both she and Minerva enjoyed wearing theirs 'just because' as Rolanda was that day.

Minerva opted for a dress, as usual, but this one was not her usual sever style, nor was it a classic Goth ensemble. She had borrowed it from Poppy, so it was a tad too loose, though it seemed to fit alright. It fell just above her knee, as she was taller than her friend, and it was bright red, which looked lovely in contrast to her pale skin (more so than usual) and midnight black hair, tight back in its usual bun.

Rounding out the group was Poppy herself, in a chipper blue blouse with short sleeves and a navy blue skirt that fell just past her knees. Her hair was held back by a thick bright blue cloth headband and she was wearing her reading glasses, despite her obvious and often-voiced hatred towards them. Finishing her outfit off, a pair of white knee socks and cute short black boots that were terribly popular (and expensive) in the Wizarding World.

A group of boys throwing around a quaffle on broomstick caught Cicely's eye, and she pointed them out to her friends.

"Look there, girls. See the tall, handsome blonde one? Alcapricious Malfoy, a Slytherin seventh year. You must know him.

"I know him alright," Minerva said sullenly, and Poppy understood. He was good pals with Riddle.

"He's handsome, isn't he? Dark, intense…I bunked him a couple of months ago on a Hogsmeade trip, and let me just say, that bitchy little Belvedere girl he's betrothed too, she's going to have a wonderful sex life."

"You bunked him?" Asked Skipper, to which Cicely nodded.

Minerva scoffed. "Big surprise."

Cicely heard her. "Excuse me, Min?"

Minerva cleared her throat. "I said, 'big surprise.' Big bloody deal. You've, how do you put it so eloquently, you've _bunked_ just about every sixth or seventh year male here, not to mention half the magical men in Salem, and quite a few Muggles too! So he's another on your list. Wow."

Cicely stood up and threw her cigarette down, crushing it out with her shoe, thus burning a small hole in her school robe. "Well, since you're so damned opinionated on the matter, go on then! Speak your piece! Is it a problem, my love life? Need I remind you that you are not exactly a saint, Minerva McGonagall! I may not be an angel, but at least every time I've done it, I've wanted it. I'm nobodies free whore! Unlike some people, who allow themselves to be forced into it, then feel bad later and go on crying all pathetic like! Oh, poor Miss. Minerva, she regrets it, she does! So that makes it okay! She's not like the rest of us, oh no!"

"Shut it, Cicely!" Shouted Poppy suddenly, jumping up from her spot on the grass to come to her best friend's aid.

Cicely glared at Poppy, then glanced down at her closest chum for a reaction of support. Skipper ignored the other three and continued her reading.

"Stay out of this, Poppy Shayne Pomfrey! It's none of your business!"

"Minerva is my business!" She countered, hands on her hips.

"Grow up, kid. Grow up, both of you! Have you any idea what my life---No, never mind. It's not your business either. The point is, I'm no better or worse than you, Minerva McGonagall. We're equals, you and I! We are!"

"Minerva has only ever _bunked_ one person ever, and she told him to stop, so really it doesn't count because she didn't want to." Exclaimed Poppy hotly, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper.

"Whether you wanted to or not, it counts! It always, always counts! Whether it's one guy, or one time, or two guys or two times…"

"How many has it been for you, eh, Cicely?" Poppy demanded to know. Minerva stood back slightly and watched in awe. She had never seen sweet, vibrant Poppy get so angry, nor had she ever witnessed so much emotion of any kind explode from Cicely Sinistra before.

"It's none of your damn business how many, that's what number!"

"'Cause you don't know, do you? You horrible trollop, you've no idea!"

"Three, okay? Just three. And I've never been with Tom, I made that up. So I lied, there hasn't been that many. Just Malfoy, and…and it's none of your business!"

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Just three? But you said…"

"So I lied, okay? Cicely glared at the other girls. "So I bloody lied!"

"Why? Why would you lie?" Whispered Minerva. This was one of those rare moments when something about Cicely genuinely frightened her.

"You don't understand! You'll never understand!" She screamed at them, tears filling her eyes. With that, she turned and ran away, towards the castle, leaving her robe on the ground.

"Now you've done it," said Skipper, turning a page as the other two girls, stunned, sat down again on the grass.

"Who was her first?" Asked Poppy, leaning forward and speaking in her most gossipy tone. "And when?"

Rolanda "Skipper" Hooch replied without taking her eyes off the textbook. "She was eleven. And he was her stepfather."

* * *

A/N So what do you think? Kind of a strange, sadder chapter. I'm waiting for them to leave Hogwarts before bringing in the ADMM-ness…But don't worry, they're so very close to Graduation day! :) 


	5. Such Sweet Sorrow

**Chapter Five:**

**Saying Goodbye**

**"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow." -- From Romeo and Juliet**

Naturally Minerva and Poppy apologized profusely to their friend on Monday in the Great Hall when she showed up for breakfast. Skipper—Rolanda—had advised them not to ask where she had spent the rest of the weekend, and they, feeling guilty and shameful and evil enough as it was, obliged. Cicely said she forgave them, and would talk to them later, but by the last exam, on Thursday, it was clear that she was keeping her distance. Finally, exams were over for the seventh years and it was Friday, a free day for all those who had just taken their NEWTS. The underclassman still had tests to take, so Minerva and Skipper were left on their own until the other two were finished, at three. Minerva, sick of keeping secrets from her roommate, broke down and told her friend of the child she was carrying. Skipper reacted as expected, sympathetic and kind, but quickly bored with the tears, though she hid her annoyance well. The four met at three-thirty in the Common room, and, at Poppy's request, snuck out of the castle through a secret tunnel that led them straight to Hogsmeade (the same tunnel would later collapse, as Fred and George Weasley would one day discover). Once out of Hogwarts, the four relaxed and went to the pub for a drink. (Two Butterbeers, a Firewhisky and a Fizzy Water).

Minerva discussed her pregnancy and options with the other girls, and each had advice.

"I say tell Riddle, make him marry you! He would you know, he would have to! I mean, really! And he's so very smart and good looking, this could really work out for you, Min. Or, you know, just have the baby and keep it quiet and your sister can raise it as hers! Happens all the time, and only us and your family will know." Rolanda had said, sipping her whisky, ignoring the disgusted looks on Poppy and Cicely's faces.

"No, don't do that, Min! Like I told you, I read in a book of me mum's that I snuck, you can end the pregnancy, our way or…if you're afraid someone will find out you did the spell or you have trouble getting ingredients for the potion is accompanies, mum has a book about Muggle practices, and they have these things they call abboritions, and you can make the baby disappear before it's born!"

Cicely sighed. "It's called an abortion, Poppy, and it doesn't make the baby disappear. For someone born into a family of healers…well, I'm sure glad you're not my doctor. Minerva, you know what I think? Get married, but not to Riddle. You spend so much time in Dumbledore's office--"

"Oh, eew!" Poppy exclaimed, nearly knocking over her butterbeer. "He's so much older, and he's a…a teacher, for Merlin's beard!"

"I spend time in his office because he helps me with Transfiguration! He's my mentor, and he likes that I am a worthy Chess opponent, and that's all!" Minerva told the girls.

"Chess?" asked Cicely playfully. "Is that what they're calling it nowadays?"

Minerva's mouth became a thin line, though it was obvious that she was trying to hold back a laugh. "Shut it, Sinistra."

"How old is he?" Asked Rolanda with a slight smile.

Poppy's eyebrows rose so high they nearly disappeared into her hairline. "You can't be serious, Skipper?"

"He's thirty-two years older than we are," said Minerva, sipping her drink. "He'll be fifty this year. And of course she isn't serious."

"I don't know, Min," Rolanda said, her smile growing like a Cheshire Cat's. "You are his favorite pupil, and he isn't married, and he does seem to enjoy your company. And he would be a good father, don't you think? With those piercing blue eyes…"

Cicely snorted. "Adopted children do not inherit their step-parents eyes. Good thing too, or mine would be a horrible yellow green, and I'd hate to se that in the mirror each morning. That's why we moved in the middle of the year. Mum moved to America to be with him, then when she found out how horrible he was, and she didn't believe when I told her, she had to walk in once…and she finally realized, and my Hogwarts letter arrived the next day, so we came back. She blames me though, 'the little nymph' she calls me, and two years ago she got remarried again and moved to France, leaving me with my grandparents. Bitch." Cicely said all this with a cold, pink-lipped smile on her face, an expression which invariably gave Minerva a chill.

They talked about frivolous things until they arrived back on school property, where Albus Dumbledore himself met the quartet at the gate.

"Well, it just wouldn't be a weekend at Hogwarts if I didn't chance upon Miss Pomfrey breaking rules. Ten points. Minerva, I'm afraid you used your one free ticket, so five points from you. Lucky for you Gryffindors, you were twenty points ahead in the race for the house cup, and as it is the first transgression of Miss Hooch and Miss Sinistra, unless something changes in the next eleven minutes before the end of term banquet begins, you are still up over Ravenclaw by five. Come, girls, you shan't want to miss the meal."

The four followed the auburn-haired professor back to the Great Hall, all the while Minerva ignored significant looks from Cicely and Rolanda, and occasional shudders of disgust from Poppy.

Gryffindor did indeed win the House Cup for the third year running, and the meal was wonderful as usual. Minerva couldn't help but feel as though this might be her last Great Hall feast ever, but Cicely must have been able to read her mind, for she assured the other girls, "Not to worry. We're all going to be back here, together, someday. I'll teach Defense or Ancient Runes or Astronomy, something dead useful, and Minerva will take over for Transfiguration, and Poppy can cure everyone of what ails them, and Skipper…uh…well, you haven't any talent or smarts to speak of, so you can work with the house elves in the kitchen. You're so tall, it'll be nice for them to have someone who can reach the high shelves."

"Oh shut it!" Rolanda exclaimed, hitting her friend with a dinner roll. "I'm supposed to keep it secret until after we graduate, but, well, close enough I say. I've been recruited! I'm going to play for the Chudley Cannons, their first female Keeper ever! And only the fourth woman their team has seen to date, and they started letting girls on ten years before Dippet allowed it here."

The girls chorused their congratulations, but Cicely looked concerned.

"But you will return here, to teach with us, someday, won't you?" she asked.

"Of course I will! But I need a career like this first, that will make me a better teacher. What will you do after school next year if no teaching positions open?"

Cicely sighed. "Ministry work, maybe. Join the fight against Grindelwald."

Minerva nodded. "Me too."

"That's so cute," said Poppy, suddenly mischievous. "You and your future husband, working together!"

This time it was Minerva's turn to attack with a dinner roll.

* * *

When the time came to board the train for the last time, Minerva and Rolanda were subdued, quiet. Poppy was her usually bubbly self, and Cicely was dark and moody, as was typical on the ride home.

The spoke little for the first half hour or so, but by the time the train came to a stop at Platform 9 ¾, they had been talking nonstop for some time.

Various other people had stopped by their car, including the graduates former roommates, Leilee Nichols, Harriet Lucas-Mayer, and Yvonne Harbington.

"So," Poppy had asked the trio, who were very close. "What are you planning to do now?"

Leilee grinned. "I'm going to audition for The Crucible at that new theatre, the magic one near London. My sister was in their last show, Trials and Tribulations, which she also wrote. Right now they're doing mostly Muggle shows, but starting next season it's going to be all shows by Wizard authors!"

"Wow!" Cicely reacted, genuinely impressed. "Is this professional theatre? Do you get paid?"

"That's the best part!" exclaimed the chestnut-haired beauty. "Actors and everyone get paid, and if you're asked to join the company you get to live in the boarding house right down the street! My sister lives there, and it's really nice." Minerva knew her roommate would do well in performance art. She was, after all, exceptionally pretty, and had a tendency to be over dramatic at times.

"That's great, Leilee," Minerva said, to which the other girls agreed. "What about you, Harriet?"

The pudgy blonde sat up a little straighter in her seat. "I," she said, "Am going to be an Enforcer."

"Seriously?" Skipper asked. "An Enforcer? That's tough work!"

"Yeah," she said, pulling her long pale curls into a ponytail. "And I really have to get in shape, but I got accepted into a preliminary program and I'm very excited. And maybe I'll get to work with Yvonne, right?"

Yvonne blushed.

Poppy laughed. "What are you going for, Yves?"

"She's going to be a profession criminal," explained Leilee, "So Harriet can lock her up on a regular basis. Azkaban, anyone?"

"Oh, shut it!" said Yvonne, but she was laughing. "Actually, I'm going to be an Auror. I hope so anyway. I got into basic training, but not everyone advances to the next level."

All of the girls were impressed with this, and it showed. Very few women were accepted into Auror training, and even fewer made it as far as necessary to actually become Aurors.

The seven girls chitchatted for some time, eventually leaving to find the snack witch.

Two of Cicely and Poppy's roommates stopped by too, explaining that, "Poor Gisele has the flu! She's sick as a boarhound in our car, and we just had to escape her for a few."

Even Tom Riddle came by to say hello.

"Minerva?" He said tentatively when the door opened.

She jumped up. "Tom?"

"Can I speak to you?"

Rolanda stood up very close to Tom Riddle. Her height permitted her to be eye-level with him. "She doesn't want, nor does she need, to speak to you at the moment, Riddle. So I suggest you clear off, lest I have to clear you off myself. Understand?"

"Sit down, Hooch. I don't need permission to speak to my girlfriend, alright?"

"Oh!" Cicely exclaimed loudly. "So she's your girlfriend now! How did I not realize, you've been spending so much time together these last couple of months! Where the Hell have I been to miss that?"

He clenched his fists. "Shut it, half-blood."

"My blood's as pure as yours, Riddle. Planning to spend the summer at the orphanage, or getting your own place?"

"Please!" Minerva stood up suddenly, surprising Poppy, who had taken Minerva's hands in hers when Tom had entered. "Stop this. Tom, I'll talk with you. Girls, could you excuse us a few moments please?"

"No, don't bother." Tom said, angrily. "We have nothing to talk about. Goodbye, Minerva."

He stormed out of the car.

"Cicely! Skipper!" Poppy snapped. "What'd you have to go and do that for? He just wanted to talk, that's all! Maybe they'd have got back together."

"Don't be slow, Poppy." Said Cicely, returning to her seat beside Rolanda. "It's better this way. He's not right, that boy. He's not right."

"He used to be so sweet though," Minerva said with a sigh. "And he was such a funny kid! It was after he outed Hagrid that he started changing."

"That was awful," Rolanda shook her head. "I mean, I never liked Myrtle, but I can't believe she died!"

"Albus, I mean, Dumbledore said the school came close to closing after that! He says that they searched everywhere ,but could not find the Chamber, and despite Dippet telling everyone it didn't exist, he's sure it does." Minerva opened a chocolate Frog card as she spoke, and smiled to see that she had gotten the very man she had been speaking of, Albus Dumbledore. He smiled back, waved, and disappeared.

"That's very suspicious," said Cicely slowly. "Very, very suspicious indeed."

Minerva was confused. "Suspicious? That they never found it?"

"No." Cicely grinned. "Suspicious that you accidentally went and called him 'Albus.'"

* * *

A/N Suspicious? Maybe...maybe...lol. I'm toying with you! But now that they're leaving...well, it'll be ADMM soon enough...or will it? lol just teasing. Please review, tell me whatchya think! I need to know! 


	6. Some By Virtue Fall

**Chapter Six:**

**Home Again By Morning**

**"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue, fall." –King Henry IV, Part One**

Twoweeks post graduation, Minerva received the results of her NEWTS.

"Mum!" She cried when Clawtalons (her graduation present, a beautiful ash-gray female owl) brought her letter, emblazoned with the Hogwarts Crest. She rushed down the stairs to the kitchen, where Mariah was cuddling her five-week-old son Craigan. Mariah's other two children, Elisa and Mathew, were playing Dragons Lair under the table, and her mother had just levitated a plate of fresh cookies for the counter, letting them rest in the center of the table.

"Ooh, yum!" said Minerva, picking up a chocolate chip cookie and taking a bite.

Her sister rolled her eyes. "You know, Minerva, you really should not be eating that. You're already beginning to lose your figure since school let out two weeks ago, and you haven't even married yet. How will you ever find someone if you weight three-hundred pounds?" Mariah chastised.

"Mariah!" scolded their mother. "Leave her be. She's been so terribly thin for so long, maybe now she'll develop a real shape!" Minerva reached for a second cookie. "Oh, but Minnie, try not to overdo it dear. Now what's that in your hand? Your Hogwarts letter? Call McKayla in then, she's on the porch. We'd all like to see your marks."

"Mickey!" Minerva shouted towards the door.

"Well dammit, Minerva! I could have done that!" said her mother, obviously exasperated.

"Mother!" Exclaimed McKayla as she entered. "What language to use around the little ones!" In McKayla's arms she held a small calico kitten, about eight weeks old. Elise climbed out from under the table and asked for it, and a moment later the poor frightened animal joined the four year old and her three year old brother in the "Dragon's Lair."

Suddenly Minerva realized how oddly quiet the house was at that moment.

"Where is everybody?" she questioned her sisters, puzzled by the tranquility of the house.

McKayla laughed. "Just noticed how peaceful it is? Well, Mister Conrad Gemini, wonderful husband that he is, took all four of our little angels to the playground this afternoon and is buying them dinner this evening, then going home and putting them to bed as an 8 year anniversary gift to yours truly. Isn't that sweet? I told him he was mad, I mean, no man wants to spend his day off with four young children—"

"Yeah," interrupted Mariah, "especially not _those_ four young children!"

"My offspring are very well behaved, thank you Mariah. They are merely, er, spirited children."

"Well, that was nice of him" said Minerva. "Anyone mind if I open my letter now?"

"Go on then!" Ordered her mother, levitating another batch of cookies from the oven to the counter. They would be set on the table when cooled.

"Okay." She tore open the envelope and took a breath. "Defense against the Dark Arts, the highest marks! Muggle Studies, Outstanding. Excellent in Arithmancy and Potions as well. Care of Magical Creatures, Outstanding! Plus Outstanding in History of Magic, well there's a surprise, thought Id've done worse, that one is so very dull, and Outstanding in Charms and…Oh, Mum!" Minerva started to cry. Her mother, concerned snatched the letter from her hand.

"Transfiguration…Oh, Minerva!" Her mother began to cry as well.

"How bad can it be? I thought that was your favorite!" said Mariah, who was breaking a cookie in half for her two older children to share.

"Let me see!" McKayla took the letter and gasped. "My Merlin, Minerva! Highest Marks in overthirty years! Highest marks since Albus Dumbledore, he wrote it here in the margin, and he's a damn-near perfect genius!"

"I know," exclaimed Minerva. "That's why I'm crying! I'm so happy…I just can't…I can't believe it!"

"Look here too, Min. A letter from him, that says Miss Minerva McGonagall, Personal. It's his handwriting, he probably wishes to congratulate you…"

It was Mariah's turn to gasp. "Perhaps he wished for you to study with him this summer, an internship, like you were hoping for! Your marks are surely high enough! You'll be an Animagus in no time!"

"I…I have to go! Mum? I need to go…read this…and send an Owl to Poppy! If I study at Hogwarts, we'll see each other all next year!"

"Minerva, you'll be there to work, not to play with your chum. But you should not get your hopes up, you've yet to read the letter. Goupstairs now, Minnie. Read it."

Minerva kissed her mother on the cheek. "Alright then, Mum!"

Minerva waited until she and Clawtalons were alone in her room to rip open the letter, which was in its own little envelope. Sure enough, it was from Albus Dumbledore.

_Congratulations on all you marks, Minerva. I knew you could do it! Were your Transfiguration grades any better, you would have surpassed my record…another four points was all you needed! I would like to offer you that internship you spoke to me about. You could come and stay at Hogwarts, starting onjuly First…We'll make you an Animagus in no time, I have no doubt! Also, you may be interested to know that Professor Normington has decided to retire after next year, thus Hogwarts will need a new Charms teacher. I know that Charms was not your favorite subject, but you scored so very high on you exams that it would be worth applying for the position, that is, if you so desire. In either case, drop me an Owl as soon as possible. I hope you decide to accept my internship offer. Have a good holiday, and I'll (hopefully) see you July First._

_Albus Dumbledore_

Minerva grinned. "And it's back to Hogwarts for me!"

* * *

The two weeks before returning to Hogwarts passed by so slowly, Minerva was sure that time had actually slowed. By the time she would be going back to school she would be 14 weeks along in her pregnancy, but, luckily, she still was not really "showing." She had gained a little more weight during her month at home, but her mother attributed this to the fact that she had been eating more. Minerva could hardly wait to escape her house and return to the only place where she truly felt at home. Besides, if she did not get away fro her mother, sisters, nieces, nephews and brothers-in-law soon, she would go mad! Seven children between the ages of 2 months and seven years, all under foot all the time! Her mother's nagging, her sisters' 'friendly career advice.'

"Get married as soon as you can and then, if you need a job, find an easy one in his office," said Mariah, who met her husband while working as a record keeper in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office where he was employed). Or, even better, was McKayla's opinion. "Conrad has several unmarried friends, I could introduce you, and once you're wed you need not work at all! Be a homemaker, like me, and concentrate on raising your family. Honestly, I don't know how Mariah holds down a job. I cannot imagine the state Conrad junior, Gretchen, Wickett and Nicholas would be in if I were to seek employment away from them!"

Minerva had merely smiled and thanked her sisters, though she hardly intended to heed their advice. She would have a job, and work hard at it, and raise her child alone if need be. But she would not settle. And she would not be a homemaker.

Finally it was time to return to Hogwarts. Able to Apparate, she simply appeared in the Three Broomsticks on July First, and got a cup of tea to sip while she awaited Dumbledore's arrival. She did not have to wait long.

They walked back to Hogwarts together (her belongings had been sent on ahead) and on the way they discussed the summer, the Charms job, and of course, Transfiguration.

"Poppy is thrilled that I will be studying here this year. She said she was terribly afraid of a school year without me. But I told her that I will be busy, working, learning, and all of that. She did not want to hear it."

Albus chuckled. I am sure that she will sneak out often at night to visit you in your bedchambers. Lucky for you, your room is not too far from mine, and as I am Head of House that puts us rather close to Miss Pomfrey's Common Room.

"She'll be delighted."

Though Minerva looked forward to the upcoming arrival of the students, she rather enjoyed the routine she and Albus Dumbledore had fallen into the her first ten days at teh school. They would eat breakfast in the Great Hall in the morning, with several other staff members who either had no other home to go toor chose not to leave for the summer holiday. Then she would study with her mentor for a few hours, leaving the practical work for the afternoons. They would enjoy lunch around noon, and she would head to the library for an hour or so to review her morning lessons, and by evening they would bother be very tired. After two weeks of practice she knew that her Animagus form would be a feline animal. She could grow ears and whiskers rather easily, and was beginning to grow fur in her attempts, and claws too!

"Maybe I'll end up a tiger!" She had said to Albus once or twice. He simply smiled. "Perhaps."

After finishing their work in the evenings, Minerva would often stay in Albus' office for a game or two of Wizard's Chess. He was used to being Hogwarts' best player, he explained to her once, but she had beaten him so many times he felt it was nearly time for him to hand over the title.

Each night after their game (or games) he would walk her back to her room, and continue on to his living chambers. He had allowed her to see his quarters once, when she had asked whether teachers have but one room and an attached bath as she did. He explained that her room had been added just for her, whereas teachers' quarters were much bigger, with a sitting room, bedroom, small office-space, and bath. He had given her 'the tour' which only made her long for a teaching position more than ever before.

They talked all through their chess games, about their childhoods, the future, Grindelwald, (whom Minerva wanted desperately to help in the fight against, but as he had disappeared, Albus assure her it was best to wait until his expected resurface before putting herself in any intentional danger). Basically, the talked of anything and everything, as Albus slowly began to replace Poppy as Minerva's closest confidant.

They talked about her father.

"He adored you, Minerva," Albus told her one night. "He spoke of you very often. He was proud of your drive to succeed, your thirst for learning, your natural intelligence."

"My sisters do not always speak so well of him." She said, moving her bishop four squares to the diagonal right. "Check."

He moved his Queen to take her bishop. "Yes, well, it was difficult for them. Your father, as I'm sure you recall, was rarely at home. He would bring you here sometimes to play with Poppy, but he often left your sisters with your mum, which I'm sure is one reason that they were always so jealous of you. By the time you were born they were…how old? Six and ten?"

"Six and nine. Check."

His blue eyes twinkled. "And he felt he hardly knew them, so he vowed to do better by you, which I'm sure also increased the jealousy they felt by the mere fact that their mother had brought home another little girl to share her affections. Now _you're_ in Check."

"They are so much like Mum, my sisters. Get married, have babies, further populate the Earth. Not that I dislike children, but that is hardly my plan. Your move."

"He called you Miss Minnie."

"I remember…Checkmate."

"Another good game, Minerva. But I daresay we shan't play another tonight, it's very late. I will walk you to your room."

"Thank you." She gathered her books as he put away the chessmen, who were dusting themselves off and attempting to piece themselves back together.

"You might as well leave your books, I doubt you'll have much time to study tonight. That game took nearly three hours." He smiled again, and she felt herself blush. _Stop that!_ She ordered herself. _Silly, stupid girl._

He walked her to her room as usual, talking about nothing. Suddenly, Minerva felt something sticking out in front of her on the floor, but it was too late to catch herself…

She tripped over the semi-transparent foot of Peeves, the Poltergeist, who was hiding along the corridor and she fell to the floor.

"Peeves! Clear off!" Ordered Dumbledore, reaching down to help Minerva up.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned. As she put an arm around his shoulders and he pulled her into a standing position.

"Fine, fine. Just, bruised a bit I think. My knees and my pride." Despite her words, she smiled.

He slid an arm around her waist and smiled back. "You can walk okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, really." But he did not move his arm.

A moment later they arrived at her room. He took her hand in his and kissed it as any old fashioned gentleman might. "Goodnight, Miss Minerva."

"Goodnight, Albus."

* * *

Despite Albus' repeated orders to "Clear off" or "Get Moving," Peeves waited for them to finish their game every night for the next week, just so he could torture them. Five days after tripping Minerva, he called to her from above her head. When she looked up to see what he wanted, he dropped a book on her! It hit her square on the forehead, and though it was not a particularly heavy book, it smarted just the same.

"Peeves!" Shouted Dumbledore, exasperated, as the poltergeist floated off to wreak mayhem somewhere else in the castle.

"Goodness, Minerva. Are you alright?"

"You ask me that rather often," she replied, rubbing her forehead. "And I'm fine, as usual." She sighed. "I do with he'd let me be though."

"He's a rotten little thing," said Albus, lifting his hand to cup her chin. Let me see, Min." She blushed profusely at this, though she wasn't sure if she was more embarrassed by the face he was so very close, or the fact that he had called her Min.

"A little red, but you should live." He kissed the already forming bump on her forehead. "Goodnight, then. See you in the morning."

"Ye-yes." She said, her voice cracking slightly. She reached up to touch the spot on on her forehead where Albus had...Where Peeves' book had gotten her.

"Goodnight."

* * *

A/N

I told ya we were gettin' there! I hope/plan to update more often over the month of January, partly b/c I've just a cerative streak re: this fic, and partly b/c school is out for the month. I have gotten rid of much or my original story for this, because before I posted each chapter that I had already written I re-wrote much, so much that the next few chapters don't work with what I'm doing now! So I'm starting each one from scratch, rather than going on what I had already...I hope you like the direction I'm going in! Whether you do or not, please **review** for me! Thanks.

AL


	7. The Course of True Love

**Chapter Seven:**

**No Happy Ever After**

**"The course of true love never did run smooth." --A Midsummer Night's Dream**

She had trouble sleeping that night. Every time she fell asleep, she would hear her friends saying, "You should marry Dumbledore…" She would see the way his piercing blue eyes bore into her, as if he could see right into her soul. A cliché she absolutely despised and yet was finally beginning to understand. She would feel her stomach swelling as the baby got bigger and people would ask, "who's the father? Are you not married?" and she would see those eyes again, so blue, so kind…His auburn hair…her forehead…

She awoke suddenly and sat up in bed. Lying back down, she placed a hand gently on her protruding belly. "Nothing can ever be easy, eh, little one? Nothing."

She fell back to sleep.

* * *

She did not know what the next day would bring, but it went on like any other. Breakfast, study, lunch, library, practicals (she could morph a tale by now!), dinner, discussions, and chess.

He walked her back to her room as usual, and kissed her goodnight…again on the forehead. Like a child. This, although it made her blush, was strangely frustrating.

By the end of that week he had kissed her head, hand, temple, chin and cheek, and she was starting to go mad.

Finally, Friday night, she was uncharacteristically bored with his gentlemanly demeanor. She could tell that he was interested in her as something more than a student, a chess opponent, a worthy adversary and compatible dining companion.

And she was experiencing more than a crush.

There was something so decidedly equal about them. Both were intelligent, curious and insightful, eager to learn with a similar sense of humor. He told her once that she was very much like him at that age, which she took as a great compliment.

But there was something else between them. A chemistry, a connection that she could feel, that she knew he could feel, a sizzling tingling sensation that ran through her like the non-magic electric currents she had learned about in Muggle Studies.

Or maybe she was just imagining it.

Perhaps it was because of the assertive quality her father had passed on to her, or maybe it was due to the hormones the baby's existence was certainly playing with, or it could have been the result of being Poppy-less for an extended period of time, but Minerva decided she had to find out.

Friday was another typical day. They decided that she was probably going to spear in the form of a small, domesticated cat, and she was happy with that. He won their first chess game, but she beat him in the second, and he walked with her back to her room.

Thankfully, Peeves was no where to be found.

He said goodnight, and kissed her hand, as he had done many times before. But he did not release her hand promptly.

"Albus?" She began, just as he said, "Minerva?"

"You first," they said in unison, then both laughed.

"Ladies first," said Albus, smiling at Minerva, still holding her left hand in his right.

"Albus…I…" she suddenly felt very apprehensive. "That's alright, you first."

"I was just going to tell you that I have rather enjoyed this month we've been working together. You realize it will be one month tomorrow?"

"It feels like longer."

"It does indeed. You are doing exceptionally well in your work. It took me six months to be as far along in transfiguring my form as you are now. And…I…I like you very much Minerva."

"You like me?" Gosh, this is awkward…

"Very much." But he likes me…

"You kiss me every night, Albus."

"So I do."

"Kiss me now."

He lifted her hand to his lips.

"No, Albus." She slid her right hand up to the back of his neck. "Kiss me for real."

He understood. Leaning down slightly, his lips pressed gently against hers. She felt that electric feeling again; it surged through her entire body. Her lips parted slightly as the kiss became more intense, and yet remained as gentle and sweet as he had been when he kissed her forehead after the book incident. His long auburn beard tickled her a little; she was not used to that, as she had only ever kissed one person before…But this was different.

"Aww! Lookie here!" A voice above them screeched out, shattering the silence. "Ickle Minnie-kins and Albie! K-I-S-S-"

The parted and Albus shook his head. "Clear off, Peeves. Goodnight, Minerva."

"Goodnight, Albus."

* * *

She hardly slept at all that night. _What the hell just happened?_ she must have thought a hundred times. And yet she could not entirely vanish the smile from her face.

"But what about you, little one?" She whispered as she changed for bed. "What will he think of you?" She did not want to tell him. Ever. What would he think if he learned that she was…that thing…that word she hated to say aloud, for fear the mere mention of it would send off red flags to everyone within fifty yards of her: "Minerva McGonagall is Pregnant!"

But she would have to tell him…Eventually…

"Better sooner than later, eh little one?"

It took her a long time to fall asleep that night.

The next day was Saturday, her free day, when she could either hang about the castle, study in the library, visit Poppy at her summer home or shop around Hogsmeade. She chose to stay in her room, reading quietly.

Around one in the afternoon, she heard a knock at her door. She opened it to find Albus standing in the hall, wearing cerulean blue robes that made his eyes look even more enchanting than ever, and carrying a basket of muffins.

"I noticed that you were not at breakfast or lunch, and I thought you might be hungry," he said with a smile, holding out the basket.

"Thank you. Come in…" But to invite a man into her bedchambers? "I mean, er, if you'd like, you could come in, I…I have a small couch, and a chair."

"Thank you." She sat on the couch and put the basket on her little end table. He sat beside her.

"Minerva, are you alright?" Ah, those words again. He must have asked her that once a day at least since her arrival a month prior.

"I'm fine. Really." She said, though she did not sound convincing.

"Really?" questioned he. "You look awfully pale."

"It's just that…I…well…" she took a deep breath in. "Albus, I'm pregnant."

He raised an eyebrow. "From one kiss? I'm not sure that's altogether possible, but then, I could ask Madam Pomfrey."

"I…what? Oh! No, I mean, surely not, I didn't mean to say that you—" Minerva stammered, tugging on her braid.

"I was kidding, Minerva. I know that you're pregnant. Though your robes hide it well." He smiled, and she felt herself growing increasingly confused.

"You…you know? How? Since when?"

"I have been suspicious that there was something wrong for some time. Your mood, your appearance…At breakfast in the Great Hall you looked sick every morning before graduation. I wasn't entirely sure until I helped you up off the floor. For some one who eats so little, you have gained quite a bit of weight, and only in this area." He gestured to her midsection, which had indeed been growing in the 18 weeks since her encounter with Riddle.

"You knew? And you…didn't care?"

"Naturally I care. I care for you very deeply, Minerva, I told you that."

"But you kissed me."

"That I did. But you said I could."

"But if you knew…Why would you? You must…you must think I'm a horrible—I haven't even got a boyfriend!"

"I noticed you and Mr. Riddle stopped sitting together in my Transfiguration class some time ago."

"He's…We're not…" She felt her face glow bright red. "I'm not a whore."

He was momentarily silenced, surprised by her word choice. "I would never think you to be." He put his hand on top of hers. "Minerva, I do care about you, but I do not care to push you into telling me anything you would rather not disclose."

"Please…" She felt her eyes filling with tears. "But you must think that I am a…to be in this way, without even a…or…"

The tears broke free and began to slide slowly down her pale cheeks.

"Hush, Min. It will be alright. I promise." He slid closer to her on the couch and put his arms around her. She cried into his shoulder for several minutes. Finally, her tears had begun to subside and she pulled away to look at him.

"Why do you like me so, knowing…what you do?"

He pushed a few stray hairs away from her face. "You are the most beautiful and talented chess opponent I've ever played."

She managed a weak smile.

He kissed her on the forehead.

* * *

A/N What do ya think? I really like this chapter, personally (lol)...But please review! And feel free to tell me (if) you hate it! (And if you do, why?) Where should they go from here? hmmm.... Thanks for reading! 


	8. Stuff Dreams Are Made On

**Chapter Eight:**

**Fate and the Faithful**

**"We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep..." -- The Tempest**

He had held her, crying, for quite some time that afternoon. He might not have left at all (not to imply that he would have stayed except only the most honorable of intentions) but an Owl swooped in through her fireplace around three-thirty with a note for Albus Dumbledore from the Minister of Magic, who had just arrived and needed to see Dumbledore, Dippet, and a small handful of others immediately.

"Probably something to do with Grindelwald," explained Albus as he stood up to leave. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked.

She smiled. "Merlin, Albus, how many times have you asked me that?"

He smiled back. "And your reply is always the same."

In unison they said: "I'll be fine."

"Well, I will," she assured him. He walked to the door, put his hand on the knob, and turned back around to face her.

Again they started to say each other's names at the same time.

Before she could say, "you first," he took three steps towards her, slid his arm around her waist and kissed her. She put her hand up to the back of his neck as she had done the night before and returned the kiss. She felt her pulse quickening as his lips lightly parted hers and she allowed him to deepen the kiss. His tongue slid gently inside her mouth a passion and desire began to take over. After a moment, as suddenly as her had stepped to her, he stopped.

"I have to go, Minerva, and I will most likely gone overnight, but I shall see you on Monday at breakfast." He opened the door.

"Be careful," she called after him, and the door closed with a quiet click.

"See you Monday," she whispered, and sat down on her bed. She was stunned and slightly out of breath. "What am I doing, little one?" She whispered to the baby. "I must be insane."

The rest of her day was rather dull. She ate two of the muffins and drank most of the water the House elves kept for her in the pitcher on her end table. She read for several hours and even tried to work on the scarf she had started knitting at the start of summer, though she despised knitting and it really didn't look like a scarf. With no word from Albus ("I hope he's alright…Now I sound like he does, worrying all the time!") she decided to go to bed early, around eight-fifteen.

She drifted off, thinking about him and that afternoon, the night before and the baby. She though of chess and Tom Riddle and cats and books. Dark Wizards and owls and Charms and those sparkling blue eyes…

She was back on her couch, with him beside her. It was dark in the room, and they were talking about nothing. Anything. Everything.

Suddenly, he kissed her, the same passionate kiss she had so enjoyed that afternoon. She felt her heart race, her pulse quicken, her breath shorten…She leaned back on the couch and he lowered himself on top of her…

"Merlin!" She cried, sitting up in bed. _Such dreams!_ She scolded herself. _Stop that!_

She grabbed her knitting for the little bedside table and tried to continue. She fell asleep with her "scarf" in hand.

* * *

Sunday continued on in much the same fashion as Saturday night, and she looked forward to seeing her mentor again on Monday. But in the Great Hall that morning, he was not present. Armando Dippet asked to speak to her after breakfast.

"Miss McGonagall?"

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"Follow me please."

Minerva was extremely uneasy as she followed the Headmaster to his office. On the wall were paintings and pictures of Headmasters and Headmistresses past. They stopped talking as soon as they saw the young witch.

"I understand you are on your way to becoming an Animagus?" said Dippet, settling himself in his chair.

"Yes sir." She sat across from him.

"And Albus Dumbledore is your mentor?"

"Yes sir."

"And he is supposed to work with you every weekday?"

"That's correct. Is there a problem, sir?"

Armando Dippet seemed very, very nervous.

"As you know, Miss McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore is instrumental in the fight against the Dark Wizard Grindelwald," Dippet shuddered. "He was called away by the Ministry Saturday evening, I assume he dropped you a word before he left?"

"Uh, yes. Yes, he…he did."

"He was summoned by the Ministry, and while I cannot give too much information…He is…Grindelwald…In any case, we hope that he will return to Hogwarts, safely, within the next couple of days. So, for you, this means that you can take the next couple of days off. I suggest you take this time to continue your studies; I am sure that when he returns he will expect you to have kept up your work. You may go."

Minerva felt as though her breath was all caught in her chest, not quite reaching her lungs and yet filling her full of air. "Is he…" she tried to hide the tremor in her voice. "Is he alright?"

Dippet stood and stared at Minerva, expressionless. "He should be back in a few days, Minerva. You may go."

* * *

It was a full four days before she heard any more about Albus. Dippet had not disclosed any further information with her, and she was worried. Luckily, on the third day, Poppy Pomfrey returned to Hogwarts as her mother needed to prepare for the upcoming term and could not do so away from her Hospital Wing. Minerva told her friend how worried she was about Professor Dumbledore, and even admitted that is was possible that she may have just the tiniest little crush on the Transfiguration teacher and mentor.

Poppy saw right through her best friend's attempts to leave out certain details, and called her on it.

"So…" Poppy had said mischievously one evening while the two were enjoying tea and snacks in Minerva's tiny chambers. "You've kissed him, have you not?"

"Poppy!" Minerva had responded, trying to appear highly affronted. "Do not be ridiculous! What do you take me for?"

"If you are indeed serious that you have not, Minerva, I take you for a disappointment, because that's what you would be to me. But luckily I know you well enough to know that I should simply take you for a liar, because that is what you truly are."

Minerva sighed, but she was smiling. "Ginger Newt?"

And they left it at that.

The following day, the Daily Prophet arrived as usual, in the morning, and then again, not so usually, in the evening. The Headline boasted, GRINDELWALD DEFEATED! And under that: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE RIDS MAGICAL WORLD OF EVIL POWER. It was a special edition, dedicated to the Final Battle and Victory for Good, as they were calling it, with articles written about the rise of the evil power, Dumbledore's life and works, and "any and all available details straight from the battle itself." Moments after the arrival of the newspaper at dinner, Albus Dumbledore himself entered the Great Hall to cheers and applause from the Staff. He smiled politely but made it clear that he did not wish to discuss the week's events. He spoke to Armando for several minutes before walking over to the small table where Minerva was dining with Poppy and her parents.

"Prudence! Heckle! Poppy! How good to see you back at the school. Preparing for the start of term?"

"Indeed," said Prudence. "Much to be done. And congratulations and thanks to you, Albus."

"Let him be, Prudence," said Heckle before his wife could explain just what she was thanking him for (not that he didn't already know). "The man has just returned home, for the magic of Merlin, let him eat!"

"Join us, Professor?" said Poppy, but she was looking at Minerva when she did so.

"Haven't got much appetite at the moment, I'm afraid," he said, glancing at Poppy, then at Minerva, then back at Poppy again. "I think perhaps I'll head to my rooms and treat myself to a few Sherbet Lemons. Minerva, when you are through with dinner, would you mind stopping by my chambers for a few minutes? We have missed a great deal of work, and I suspect that I will be incredibly busy in the upcoming days, thus I am worried about your work, though I am sure you have been practicing without me?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, trying to look at him without blushing and failing miserably.

"Thank you. Good evening, all."

As soon as he was out of sight, Poppy put down her fork. "Well, Minerva, I'm pretty well done eating. What do you say you stop by and see the Professor before it gets too late, and I'll run along to your room and wait for you, then we can check out that new issue of Top Brooms like you wanted too."

Minerva tried to resist the urge to kick her friend under the table. "Poppy, I don't think-"

"That you should keep Professor Dumbledore waiting much longer? Good idea! After all, he's had such a long week…"

"I'm afraid she's right, dear," said Heckle as he smeared jelly on a biscuit. "Best to go now' I'm sure he's anxious to retire for the evening. You girls can look at that magazine anytime."

"Of course I'm right. Come on, Minerva. Let's go." Poppy grabbed her chums arm and led her from the Great Hall.

"I," began Minerva through clenched teeth, "Am going to murder you Poppy Shayne Pomfrey."

Poppy merely grinned. "I'll head to your room, you head to his. And I'll want details!"

A few moments later Minerva stood outside the doorway to Albus' chambers. Details?

* * *

A/N…Ooh, it's heatin' up! Lol Okay, so there wasn't much admm in this little chapter, but I've left ya with some hope, right? Now, not to dash it, but in chapters ten and eleven (I'm giving you advanced warning) there will be quite a bit of angst going on. I've been worried about putting up this chapter and the next because I know where they are leading, and I was afraid you'd all hate me… I mean, don't freak, I'm not going to kill on of um off or something crazy (of course not!) but it is going to get…tense…I suppose you could say. So I'm warning you now, in advance…

And thanks so very very very much for the reviews! I love them! :) Please continue to do so! It helps me feel assured that I'm on the right track.

AL


	9. Love Looks Not With the Eyes

**Chapter Nine:**

**When All is Well**

**"Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind."  
--A Midsummer Night's Dream **

She wasn't sure whether she should knock, whether he would hear, when the door opened for her. She entered his room to find him sitting on the couch, reading what appeared to be a very long letter. When he looked up and saw her he smiled, and put the letter on the arm of the couch. "Minerva!" He said cheerfully, standing up and walking over to her.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Dumbledore?" she asked, smiling somewhat flirtatiously.

"I did indeed, Miss McGonagall." He took another step towards her. "I wanted to make sure that you have been keeping up with your studies in my absence; I would not want you to fall behind."

She lowered her eyes. "I'm terribly sorry sir, but I have not." She looked up at him. "Perhaps I could benefit from further private...tutorials?"

He laughed and put his arms around her, enveloping her in a very comfortable hug. "I've missed you, Minerva," said he, placing a kiss lightly on her lips.

"And I you," she said, kissing him back, just as lightly.

"I've already become bombarded with letters; Owls have been in and out of here as if I reside in the Owl Emporium. Everything from fans to Ministry officials to worried friends, the school governors, even a couple of pure-blood extremists who feel as though I should have left Grindelwald alone."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Of course it is. Have a seat Minerva," he settled himself on the couch and she sat down next to him. "This letter is one from the Minister of Magic. He is grateful, of course, but at the same time he is very worried about possible back lash from the extremists, and he is concerned about, well, many other things as well. It is very tiring."

"I'm sorry, Albus. Though I, too, am relieved that the world no longer has to fear Grindelwald."

He smiled sadly. "Alas, peace will be short-lived, I am sure. There is always someone waiting in the wings, ready to take the place of the fallen wizard before." He sighed. "But I did not call upon you to burden you with such thoughts."

"Then why did you call on me, Albus?"

"I wanted to see you. I've grown accustomed to seeing you every day, and a week without you felt, well, odd." She noticed that he was blushing (so much, in fact, that his bead could not completely hide it!) and this made her blush as well. "You're blushing!" He exclaimed, brushing a strand of hair that had come loose from her braid away from her face.

"As are you!" She pointed out, and they both laughed. His hand moved again to brush that same hair from her face, but this time it lingered by her cheek.

She placed her hand securely at the base of his neck, just under his auburn hair, and they slowly closed the gap between him. This kiss was quite different from the passionate, heated one they had shared just before he left. This was slow, sensual. When neither could go any longer without breathing, they parted.

"Minerva," he began, but she put a finger to his lips.

"I know," she whispered, and their lips connected again. This time the kiss grew in intensity until it was entirely on par of the one just before he left. Like in her dream, she allowed him to lower himself on top of her on the small couch, not entirely comfortable but enjoyable just the same. His hand found her waist as hers ran over his back. His lips moved from hers to her jaw line, to her neck, to her shoulder. He paused a few moments at the spot where her neck and shoulder met and she moaned quietly. His right hand slid up her waist to just below her breast, but no higher, as Albus respected Minerva too much to take it much further much faster.

Minerva had never experienced such a sensation as she was then; she had no idea that such actions could feel so...good. She had certainly never felt that way with...whats-his-name?

Albus' left hand also moved away from her waist, down her hip, to her outer thigh. It was then that she remembered whats-his-names name...and what he did to her.

"No!" she cried, and Albus sat up immediately. "Are you alright?" he asked her for the thousandth time, pulling her into a sitting position.

"Yes...I...it's just that..." She was rather out of breath. "I just remembered...Poppy...I..."

"You should be getting back to your room, Minerva." He said gently, and she nodded.

They stood up, and she took a step back, away from him. But she did not want him to think that he had done anything wrong, or that he had hurt her, or that she was upset with _him_ (it was her memories of Tom Riddle that upset her, of course. Not Albus, whom she cared for very deeply).

"Would you...that is to say...Would you walk me back to my chambers?" She asked him, and the slightly hurt, confused expression on his face subsided.

"I would like that, yes," he paused, and she was sure he had more to say.

"What is it, Albus?"

"Just that...Minerva...you can trust me. If you need to tell me...anything."

She tried to smile at his kindness, but she felt tears welling up in her yes. "I'm just not ready yet, Albus...I'm sorry."

He offered her his arm (and she took it) and they made their way out into the hallway. "Whenever you are, Minerva, just know that I'm here. The password is Talking Toffees."

"Talking Toffees?" She could not suppress a giggle. "Are they not those new candies that either insult or compliment you when you open them?"

"They are."

They chuckled at this, and continued to discuss small, frivolous things for the remainder of the walk. Soon they were standing outside Minerva's bedchambers door.

"Goodnight Minerva," he said, kissing her quickly on the forehead and taking a step back.

"Goodnight, Albus," said Minerva, adding as she took a step forward, "I'm really glad you're back."

He leaned down to kiss her goodnight, but the moment was interrupted when--

"Oh! My! I...Oh." Poppy stood in the doorway, messy hair pulled up into childlike pigtails, a copy of Top Brooms under her arm.

"I was just going to sneak down to the kitchens--er, I mean, I was going to...I was...Oh my."

Albus' gaze shifted from the positively mortified expression of Poppy Pomfrey to the look of extreme embarrassment on Minerva's face.

"Poppy," Minerva began, "Really, it isn't what you think--"

"Minerva," she interjected. "I'm sure that it is."

"Ladies," Albus broke in, trying to hide his smile. "I reckon it is getting late, and I need to be heading back to my chambers. Unless you plan to stay the night with Minerva, Poppy, I suggest you do the same. It is not ideal to be wandering around the corridors alone at night, even with the threat of Grindelwald no longer an issue. Good night."

In unison they responded, "Good night." Then Poppy clutched Minerva's arm and dragged her into the bedroom.

"Well?" Poppy asked expectantly.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Well what, Poppers?" She asked, using Heckle Pomfrey's 'baby nickname' for the girl.

Poppy ignored the annoying moniker. "Well? Well?! I said I wanted details!"

Despite her desire to be as mature an adult as possible, Minerva could not help but grin as she settled herself beside Poppy on the edge of the bed. "Details?"

* * *

Minerva gave Poppy the details she wanted, more or less, though she coyly refused to tell her everything (leaving out, for example, the 'snogging on the couch' incident). Over the next few days, Minerva continued to study with Albus, though true to his assumptions he was very busy, thus giving Minerva more time to hang about with Poppy.

Minerva thouroughly enjoyed her lessons, but more than that she was enjoying their conversations, their chess games, and the incredibly stupid jokes he would tell her, always learned from some Christmas Cracker or muggle joke book (he owned two of them).

It was four days after his return, at about Midnight, when Minerva first found the necessity to use Albus Dumbledore's password. She was incredibly apprehensive about doing so, but she had to talk to someone, and she could not risk Poppy's parents overhearing what she had to say (Poppy slept in a tiny bedroom adjacent to her parent's bedchambers whenever they were at Hogwarts over the summers--during vacations she stayed in the Gryffindor dorms).

Nervously sliding her hand over her now clearly growing midsection, Minerva realized that she was already eighteen weeks along.

"Talking Toffees," she whispered.

And she was permitted entrance.

Once in Albus' sitting room, Minerva felt lost. She couldn't very well go bursting into his room in the middle of the night! It certainly would not be proper, and she wasn't sure he would appreciate the interruption to his sleep.

"Is someone there?" She heard his voice call from the room behind the door on the far side of the room.

"I...It is I, Albus!" She called to him.

"But I am Albus!" He called back, causing her to become flustered.

"I meant, Albus, I am me, that is to say..."

"Minerva!" she could hear his laughter from behind the door, which she realized was open slightly.

"Come in, if you dare," he said chuckling. "Is something wrong?"

She approached the door cautiously, and when she opened it she could see Albus in the shadows, leaning over his bedside table. He retrieved his wand and waved it, lighting the half dozen or so candles he had around the room.

"You'll excuse me if I don't brighten the room entirely, at least not right away. My eyes are adjusting."

"That's fine."

"Have a seat," he gestured to the bed, and she sat beside him, trying not to be too overtly uncomfortable.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"It's just that...Sir..."

"Please do not call me sir, Minerva. I understand that some habits are hard to break, but it makes me feel so terribly--" he waved a hand dismissingly. "--Old."

"Sorry."

"Now you wanted to speak to me?" He smiled at her, eyes squinting a bit due to the fact he had not put on his glasses.

"I...I thought perhaps...I felt something."

"Felt something?"

She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. "Here. I know that it is awfully early, but do you I have felt a kick? Or movement, maybe? I'm sure it was something, it woke me up! I...I felt..."

He smiled at her in the darkness. "I know remarkably little about such matters, Minerva, but if you are sure you felt something, then--"

"But it is too early, isn't it? I imagined it, didn't I?" He could hear the disappointment in her voice and it pained him.

"If you don't mind my asking, Min, how far along are you?"

"Eighteen weeks." She sighed. "Almost Five months."

"That_ is _early, I think. But that is not to say you cannot feel your child's presence--"

"I didn't want to." She blurted out. Immediately horrified by her admission, she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"What was that?"

"Nothing...I...I should be going." She stood up and he took her hand. "Minerva, since you are here, why don't you stay and talk to me a moment."

She hesitated, but sat back down a moment later. "What shall we talk about?"

"You didn't want to what?"

She turned away. "I'd rather not talk about that," she said, trying to hold back the tears she could feel burning in her eyes. The last five months had literally broken her, or so she felt. Six months ago, she was not breaking down into tears every few minutes. She was not so confused and depressed six months ago. She was strong, put together...

She could not stop the tears now. They were streaming silently down her cheeks, and she hated that. He put his hand just under her chin and turned her face so that he could see her.

"I'm sorry, Minerva," he said, but before he could say just what he was sorry for she felt herself getting bold again, as she had the first time she had asked him to kiss her. She kissed him rather hard, and he responded despite his better judgement (she was obviously feeling both fragile and vulnerable after all). It was a virtual repeat of that evening on the couch, except this time she took his hand and placed it on her thigh. He slid his tongue into her mouth and she eagerly accepted it. She slid her arms around him so that her hands were on his back. He felt her nails dig ever so slightly into his back as he kissed and sucked on her neck and shoulder. Under her robe he could feel the fabric of her soft, warm cotton nightgown. It intrigued him that she would wear such night attire in the middle of the summer.

She moaned aloud when he bit lightly on the base of her neck. She guided his mouth back up to hers and continued to snog passionately for several moments. He moved so that his lips were just a fraction of an inch from her ear. "Minerva," he whispered huskily. "You are so beautiful."

She pushed his shoulder back so that she could look into his eyes. He could see that while she appreciated the compliment, she did not quite believe his words. Nevertheless, she replied, "Thank you." Her eyed welled with tears again.

He traced fingers around her hairline and smiled. "You keep your hair back so tightly...Is it not uncomfortable?" He pulled himself into a sitting position.

"I could take it down," she offered, sitting up beside him.

"Allow me." He reached around to her back and undid the bottom of her braid. He took his time releasing her hair from the constraints of the braid and ran his fingers through it. He kissed her lightly and she sighed.

"I should get back to my chambers," she said, though she spoke without any real conviction.

"It is so very late already, Minerva. You might as well stay. I can conjure up a cot for myself--"

"Nonsense, Albus, this is your room!"

"I worry about you walking back alone so late."

"Then I will stay, if you wish me to."

Albus pulled back the blankets and kissed her gently. "Wall side or outside?"

She blushed. "Wall side, please."

She climbed in first, settling her self close to the wall. He fixed the blankets and a moment later he slid his arm around her. She sighed lightly and relaxed against him.

Surprisingly, it did not take her long to fall asleep that night. He, however, was awake much of the night, worrying. She was not telling him something, that he knew, and it was something obviously very important. And painful. And even without using his leligmency powers, he had a pretty decent idea as to what her secret was.

The next morning, Minerva woke early. Albus was still asleep, so she tried to climb out of the bed without waking him (she did not want him to see that she was blushing _again_).

But alas, he awoke a moment later, and said her name just as her hand touched the door. She swivelled around and smiled at him, trying to control her flushed cheeks.

He slid out of bed and pulled on a midnight blue bathrobe. She was still wearing her robes open over her cotton nightgown as she was the night before.

"Yes, Albus?"

"Good morning."

She smiled. "Good morning. I'd better get back to my room and dress before anyone--er--before I run into anyone."

"Good idea. See you later today, then?"

"Yes. See you."

When Minerva arrived back in her room, she slid off her robe and examined herself in the floor-length mirror she rarely spent any time looking at. It had been a gift from her mother two birthdays ago.

It was while glancing in the mirror that Minerva saw a figure in the background, curled up on the couch. She gasped; She was not alone in the room!

The gasp awoke the figure, who jumped up startled.

"Poppy!" Exclaimed Minerva, both angry and relieved at once.

Poppy rubbed her tired eyes. "Min? I've been waiting for you since dawn! Where have you been?"

"I fancied a walk."

Poppy looked skeptically at her chum. "In your nightdress?"

"I...Poppy,"

"Nothing to explain to me, Minerva! If you want to go spending the night with former professors, it's none of my business."

"We only slept--"

"Min! Please, this time, spare me the details, okay?"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Poppy, you are being over dramatic."

"Am I? Well, then perhaps your boyfriend is right. Maybe I should audition at that theater company."

"Poppy, he is not my boyfriend--"

"But you spent the night with him!"

"Nothing happened! Believe me, Poppy. You are my best friend, aren't you? You can tell when I lie and when I do not."

Poppy looked her over again, this time more slowly, as if studying her, much like a teacher who's just caught a student possibly cheating.

"Alright, Minerva. I believe you."

Minerva sighed. "So why did you come for me at the crack of dawn?"

"Oh! Minerva!" Poppy was instantly her usual bubbly self. "Skipper--I mean Rolanda--sent an Owl this morning! She's going to be in Hogsmeade, and she wants us to visit her. Cicely is on vacation in France, so she can't, but if you and I--"

"Oh." Minerva said, disappointment in her voice. "I have an appointment today, at St. Mungo's. I got it under a fake name, and I really do not want to cancel. But I could come by afterwards, and meet you two."

"Okay, sure." Poppy grinned. "I can't wait to see her! How about we meet at the Three Broomsticks at two-thirty?"

"Perfect."

* * *

A/N

Okay, I hope you liked this! Like I warned, the next two chapters (10 & 11) will be angst-ridden, so I decided that, in giving you all the info I needed to, I'd throw a lot of fluff (ie, making out, lol) in this chapter. I know I'm not the best when it comes to 'love scenes' but I'm working on it. My goal is to improve! So, tell me what you thought, please? And I'll hopefully get the next chapter up by the weekend. Saturday. If not before. :)

Thanks!


	10. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Chapter Ten:**

**It Never Lasts**

**"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes."  
-Macbeth **

A couple of hours later, Minerva said goodbye to Poppy ("tell Skipper I'll be there as soon as I can!") and took the Portkey that Albus had set up for her a few days earlier to the magical hospital. The Portkey was a small handbag.

She went to her appointment (booked under the name Hallie Harrington) wearing a blonde wig, dark glasses and a shade of lipstick that Minerva McGongall would not be caught dead in. Her healer was a man named Justiss Burke. He examined her briefly, asking a great many questions (For example, "Your husband was unable to accompany you today?" To which she answered, "he is at home, in Dublin. I am here visiting my mother.") then he sent in a midwife. The witch she had been temporarily assigned was perhaps twenty years Minerva's senior, with long, shimmery white-blond hair. "Emmarie Black," she introduced herself. "And what can I do for you today, Miss, er–"

"Harrington. Mrs." said Minerva confidently.

"Yes," the witch Black said. "Call me Emmarie. And you are...how far along, exactly?"

"About eighteen weeks."

"About."

Minerva forced herself not to shudder when the midwife touched her shoulder. There was something rather unsettling about the woman, they way she spoke, the way she looked at Minerva.

"You were born in England? You said you were visiting you mother, did you not? That is what Healer Burke said."

"Yes, I am. But I married an Irishman and moved to Dublin four years ago."

Emmarie Black raised an eyebrow. "Four years? You look so terribly young." All this time while they were conversing Black was examining the patient. She seemed satisfied by her findings.

"Have you any children?" Asked Minerva, trying to be friendly.

"I have a daughter. She's ten. And two younger boys. It is not easy being a single mother."

Minerva perked up a little. "You are a single mother?"

Emmarie sighed. "A widow. My husband worked at Hogwarts until the birth of our first child. He was killed six years later, just after our youngest's first birthday. Did you go to Hogwarts?"

Minerva shook her head slowly. Ten years ago was before she started her education there.

"My grandfather was headmaster there, years and years ago."

"Oh?" Minerva made a mental note to ask Albus about the Blacks.

The midwife nodded. "Well, everything seems to be in order. Tell me, have you a midwife chosen in Dublin?"

Minerva froze.

"Dear? I said do you have–"

"Yes! I came here before I knew that I was, but my husband, Sean is his name, Sean sent word that he found someone he thought I would like. I have not met her yet."

"I know a magical midwife who lives in the Dublin area, Sinead Carrigan. If you do not like the one your husband has found, send her an Owl. She's very talented."

"Thank you, Emmarie."

"My pleasure, Mrs. Harrington. Have a good pregnancy."

"Good luck with your children."

Emmarie Black smiled. "I fear that I need it."

* * *

Minerva apparated directly to the bathroom of the Three Broomsticks, where she vanished her wig and removed her makeup. It was almost two hours before she was to meet her friends, so she decided to take a walk.

Meanwhile, Poppy and Rolanda were just leaving the sweets shop when they spotted someone familiar about to enter.

"Poppy, Skipper," he said cordially. Even so Rolanda felt her muscles tighten and Poppy stood up a bit straighter.

"Hello, Tom," said the Quiddich player. "Keeping busy out of school?"

He smirked. "Busy as I can. Where is Minerva? Is she with you?"

"How dare you speak of Minerva!" Snapped Poppy.

"I would rather speak _to _her than _of _her, Pomfrey."

"Well, I am sure that she would rather not like to speak to you! She has someone new now, as a matter of fact, and she has all but forgotten you."

He scoffed. "Who would want her? Some sixth year thrilled at the notion of dating a witch who's of age...and with her reputation..."

Rolanda felt her hand clench into a fist, but she used all the control she could she muster not to hit him. At least not yet.

"Anyone with any decency would–I mean–he's a very respectable man!" Snapped Poppy defensively. "And a _man _too, not a little boy who can't get any on his own and has to force innocent young girls to–"

"She's with that muggle-lover isn't she?" He sneered.

"He is not a muggle lover, he's–"

Rolanda did not like the look in Riddle's eyes. "Poppy, shut it. Let's go."

"But–"

"Now." She took Poppy's arm and began to lead her away. Rolanda ignored Tom Riddle when he called after them, "Tell Minerva I'll see her soon, will you?" When Poppy spun around to retort, the future Lord Voldemort was gone.

Albus, meanwhile, was busy at Hogwarts, answering a great many letters from the Ministry and talking to Fawkes about a certain someone he seemed to be falling rather hard for.

"I just wish she wasn't keeping something from me, Fawkes," he said with a sigh as he tied a bit of parchment to one of the Ministries owl's legs.

"Minerva!" The young witch heard a voice call out from behind her. She tensed up immediately, trying to convince herself she imagined it, but a moment later she heard again, "Minerva!"

She swivelled around in the street, bringing her face to face with the one person she hoped she'd never see again: Tom Riddle.

"Hello, Tom," she said, cooly polite. "Fancy running into you."

"You look well, Minerva. How would you like to go to dinner with me this evening?"

She shuddered inwardly. "No, Tom, I'm sorry. I can't."

"Well that's alright," he said, oddly chipper. "I mean, I suppose next to the Great Albus Dumbledore, I'm not really worth a second glance, is that it?"

Her eyes widened, but she said nothing.

"I reckon he's a real gentleman, eh? All sweet and calm and patient." With each adjective Tom stepped a little closer to her.

"He's...a friend, Tom."

"You sleep with him?"

Her cheeks flushed red with both embarrassment and anger. "I have to go, Tom. Goodbye."

But he grabbed her arm and whispered something in her ear. It was the last word she head as everything suddenly got so dark...so very dark...

* * *

She awoke in a field sometime later. Perhaps minutes. Hours. Days? She did not know. It was starting to get dark outside, that she could see, though perhaps the look of evening could be attributed to the huge trees surrounding the clearing that successfully blocked out most of the sun. She was not alone in the little field.

There was a man standing over him and she recognized him; Alcapricious Malfoy. "Tom!" He yelled when her eyes fluttered open. "Lord Voldemort!"

_Lord What? _She thought, putting a hand up to her throbbing temple. Instinctively she reached for her wand, but it was gone.

"Looking for this, Minnie-kins?" Riddle's harsh voice questioned, holding it up. With a malicious grin he snapped it in two. Several of the men who had joined the trio laughed at this. She did not recognize them, as they were wearing masks.

"Interesting, eh, Minerva? I call them my Knights of Wulpurgis, but I'm thinking of changing that to something more ominous. Death Soldiers or the Blood Purification Squad or something of that nature.

"Who–" she stammered. "What?" He head was still throbbing.

"I don't know if you are aware, Miss McGonagall," Malfoy said, glaring at her. "But your muggle loving ex-professor," under his breath he added, "and from what I hear, current bedfellow," she cringed as he raised his voice and continued: "Destroyed our leader Grindelwald, leaving us followers without a leader. But luckily for all of us in favor of keeping magic all-magic, Tom Riddle here, or, shall I say, Lord Voldemort, the Future Darkest of Dark Lords, has stepped up to continue this most necessary work."

"Of making sure all wizards are pureblood?"

"That's right." Tom grinned.

"Oh, so he's telling you he's pure blood, is he? I hate to have to inform you, but his father was as muggle as–" SLAP.

His hand connected hard with her face as the pain in her head intensified. She felt tears form in her eyes but she refused to permit herself to cry in front of them.

Riddle pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Minerva. He whispered a few words, and as she could not hear what he said she was unable to prepare (as if she could) for what he was about to do. A moment later her body forced her to stand, walk over to a tree...

_Stand against the tree. Put your back to the tree. _

_No! Why do it? He's going to tie you...tie you to the tree..._

_Stand against it. Put your back against the tree._

Riddle could see that she was fighting him. This time, he did not bother to whisper. "Crucio!" He shouted, his voice echoing in the small clearing between the trees.

Her body felt like it was on fire; she was in so much pain. Riddle let up a moment later and nodded at Malfoy, who pushed her roughly against the tree. Ropes shot out of Riddle's wand and her wrists were tied together above her head, against the tree. He legs were bound as well.

Riddle laughed and stepped over to her, gesturing for Malfoy to get out of his way. The other men, all in masks, stood silently, watching. She tried not to let them see that she was afraid.

"I have done nothing to you," she said, fighting to keep her voice steady.

"Oh, but you have, Minerva. You have betrayed me. I had you first, I _own _you–"

"You sure as hell do not own me, Riddle–"

He hit her again across the face. He paused, thinking, then punched her in the stomach. Were she not tied in a standing position she would have doubled over with pain.

"I was speaking, Minerva. Dumbledore killed Grindelwald, which was most unfortunate. I've felt nothing short of hatred for him for some time, and when I found out that you and he were–are–more unprofessionally involved, why, I was seething! I am seething. Luckily, I ran into you shortly after, and decided to do something about it. I knocked you out, brought you hear, and contacted some of my most loyal followers to join me. With any luck, Dumbledore will show up soon enough to save you, and we will avenge Grindelwald–"

"He would kill you, Tom. He is a better wizard that you will ever be–"

"Shut it! I do not want to use the killing curse on you, Minerva, but I will if I need to!" He stepped back. "Crucio!"

Pain.

So. Much. Pain.

The men around her laughed. It was only seconds, but it felt like hours before he stopped the curse. He stepped very close to her and whispered in her ear:

"How does he feel, Minerva? When he's beside you? When he's inside you?"

"I wouldn't know," she replied, still shaking from the after-affects of the Unforgivable Curse.

"Feel free to just hang around and think about it awhile, Minerva," he said smiling, stepping back again. "Then the real fun can begin."

Her eyes narrowed. If she was going to die there in that clearing she would not do so easily. "You are a sad, lonely, pathetic little wizard...Or, in other words, a perfectly typical Mudblood."

His eyes flashed. She heard a couple of his masked followers gasp..

"You will pay for that, Minerva," Lord Voldemort said harshly. "You will most certainly pay."

* * *

Minerva was supposed to join Poppy and Skipper in Hogsmeade...But she never arrived. Around seven-thirty PM, after hours of searching for her, Poppy returned to Hogwarts, Rolanda by her side. When the future medi-witch told her mother of Minerva's disappearance, she was hardly nervous.

"She is a grown woman now, Poppy," Prudence had pointed out. "Perhaps she just changed her mind, came back here, or met up with another old friend."

"Thanks, ma'am," Rolanda said and pulled Poppy quickly from the room.

"What's the matter with you, Skipper? Minerva would not just stand us up–"

"An old friend, Poppy? Can you htink of anyone we saw today who may want to see her again? Someone who told us to tell her he would?"

"Tom Riddle?" guessed Poppy.

Rolanda nodded. "Let's check her room, just in case–"

"–But if she's not there," Poppy supplied, "We're going straight to Dumbledore."

They checked her room. She was not there.

And Night had fallen.

* * *

"Come, Minerva," Tom Riddle's voice echoed through the darkness. "You do not want to sleep outside here, do you?"

She felt the ropes around her legs and feet disappear and she fell weakly into his arms. Too tired to fight, she allowed him to carry her to a little shack located about twenty feet into the woods.

The other "knights" conjured up tents and slept outside.

Every so often, the silent night would be cut into...The silence would be broken when Minerva would scream.

Until she was too tired to move.

* * *

A/N

Sorry I did not update sooner. I was away all week and was unable to upload before I left. As you can see, this chapter was not too nice to/for Miss Minerva. But don't worry, she'll be okay! (Eventually). Like I said before, the next chapter will be angsty too, maybe even more so, depending on what you classify as angst. It will be sadder too, at least I think so. I hope you liked it anyway; I'm really conflicted about it b/c I hated doing it to her, but like everything else it does have a purpose! I promise!

So please review for me, even if you hate it. (But please, no flames...if you hate it, just tell me why, k? Thanks! And if you like it, tell me that too...tell me whatever...just review!)

AL


	11. Delays Have Dangerous Ends

**"Delays have dangerous ends".**

**-King Henry VI Part One**

**Chapter Eleven: Tick Tock Clock**

By eleven o'clock the next morning, Poppy, Rolanda and Albus were very, very worried. The girls had gone to the professor the night before and he had sent out the alert, Owling local stores, pubs, inns and cafés she may have visited. They contacted Ciciely, who had not seen her. They contacted her family.

No sign of Minerva.

* * *

She was in pain. A lot of pain. Searing, blinding, mind numbing, relentless fiery pain. And he was...laughing?

She awoke ('came to') around noon (she could tell because she was again outside and the sun was directly overhead) and was confused by her surroundings. She had been dreaming , she only dreamt the awful events of the prior evening...hadn't she?

But it was not a dream. It was a nightmare.

Tom Riddle was standing over her, a strange smile on his face. "I just sent an owl to that old muggle-loving idiot, telling him now to worry about you. I told him that you're in good hands, Minerva." He knelt down on the ground beside her. She tried to pull her self into a sitting position, but was unsuccessful. "I am sure that he is very worried about you, Minerva. Probably difficult for him, sleeping alone, wondering where you–"

His words were silenced when he felt something wet on his face. Saliva! Minerva had spit at him!

"You stupid bitch!" He cursed, raising a hand as if to hit her. He froze in that position a few moments, and lowered his fist. "You're not worth it. I hope he gets my letter soon. I wonder if he'll be smart enough to figure where it's from. And I hope, for your sake, he figures it out before it's too late."

He stood up, wiped his face, and walked part way across the field to where some of his followers were standing. Minerva noticed there were less this morning than the previous night, and they were not wearing masks. She squinted at them, trying to make out their faces, to see if she recognized anyone. She saw a man with his back to her, a man with long, blond hair she knew to be Alcapricious Malfoy. Beside him, Waldorphus Macnair and to his other side a tall, black wizard with a small but perfectly rounded Afro. That had to be Keisaun Beacon, he graduated when she was in her third year. She had never seen hair quite like that before or since. There were four other men, plus Riddle. A short, heavy set male with mouse-brown hair, beside him a man of medium height and medium build with dark brown hair, a similar looking man with a mustache, and a tall man with deeply tanned skin and dark hair. She did not recognize those men. She did not know them at all, and yet here they were, with Riddle, hurting her. Killing her.

_Why? _She asked herself sorrowfully. _Why would anybody, ever...? Why me?_

* * *

"I got an Owl a few moments ago," said Albus to Minerva's three best friends. Cicely had just arrived and the trio was standing in Dumbledore's office.

"Tell me what you think.

'_I suppose by now you miss your little nymphet. Your precious Minerva. She is thinking of you too. As a matter of fact, she is being reminded of you constantly. You need not worry about her, Dumbledore. She is in good hands. And she thinks of you, I'm sure, whenever these goodhands_ _stroke her hair, touch her cheek, brush lightly against her lips, connect full force with the side of her pretty face. Or shall I say, her once pretty face. So worry no longer. My Knights are protecting her. _

_Most sincerly, _

_Lord Voldemort.'_

And that's the whole letter." The girls had never seen their professor looking so worried, or so confused.

"He seems to think that we're...involved," he said, more to himself than the girls. Cicely's eyes widened, and it occurred to Poppy that the other girl knew nothing of the past couple of months. She opened her mouth to say something, but Skipper stepped lightly on her foot and she got the message.

"Why would he think that? And why hurt her...unless to get to me? Who would think–"

"Er, I think I could, um, think of someone sir. See, I...well...to be honest, I sort of, possibly, might have inadvertently–"

"Please, Miss Pomfrey, we haven't time to waist. Just spit it out, whatever it is."

"We saw Tom Riddle yesterday sir, and he was being such a jerk about Minerva, you know they–dated–briefly and it ended badly because he–well I can't tell you but I told them she had found someone better than he, someone older and smarter and since she's been spending so much time with you and everyone knows that, he might have assumed..." her voice trailed off and she added weakly, "I was just trying to get back at him for hurting her, sir."

He sighed and sat in his plush chair behind his desk. "Mm-hm." He seemed to be studying the letter. "Tom Riddle...Tom _Marvolo _Riddle. Vee-oh-elle...Dee.." He took out a quill and wrote Tom Marvolo Riddle, and began to cross out letters until all that was left was M-A-I.

"M- A- I? I- M...I Am...Lord Voldemort. We need to find Tom Riddle!"

* * *

Albus ordered the girls to go back to Hogsmeade and ask around to find out if anyone had seen Tom Riddle since Poppy had spoken to him yesterday, and find out if anyone knew where he might be headed. Albus walked with them as far as the gates of Hogwarts and apparated away. Before he did so he gave Rolanda a small white stone, and told her that if they needed him, or found out anything, she was to squeeze the stone and say his name aloud three times, and he would come.

"Wow," said Cicley as they made their way to the village. "A Contact Stone! They're really, really hard to find!"

"Let's hope Minerva's not so hard to find," said Rolanda, turning the smooth stone over in her hand. Poppy said nothing, but chewed her nails the entire walk.

It was nearly two-fifteen when the girls had their first breakthrough–and what a breakthrough it was!

Cicely grabbed Poppy's arm suddenly, and pulled her around the corner of a building. Rolanda dashed around the corner too, though she did not see why they were hiding.

"Did you not see him up ahead?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"Tom Riddle!" Exclaimed Poppy, and the other girls shushed her.

"Not quite. Alcapricious Malfoy and some fat guy! I bet Malfoy knows where Riddle is. And hey, watch this And stay here." Confidently Cicely walked right into the store she had seen the guys enter.

"So," said Poppy confused. "Should we watch, or stay here?"

"You stay. I've got the stone. I'll watch."

"Right then."

Skipper Hooch crept up to the store front, and peered through the glass window. She could see Cicely Sinistra inside, laughing and obviously flirting heavily with Malfoy. A second later, the two began making their way towards the door, the fat wizard behind them, scowling Rolanda moved out of the way and back into the little alley just in time. Cicely led the guys right to the alley next to the corner where the other two were hiding, and so they ducked behind trash cans to keep from being seen. Once they entered the alleyway, Cicely and Malfoy were all over each other. He lifted her up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist and Rolanda caught her eye from behind the trash can. Perhaps it was because best friend understand each other so well, or maybe it was simply that great minds think alike, but both knew what the other was thinking just at that moment.

"Hey, I thought you said you had a friend," said the fat, scowling one. Rolanda took that as her cue.

"She does!" She shouted jumping up. "Stupefy!" Malfoy dropped Cicely and spun around,but Poppy was quick to raise her wand and call "Stupefy!" before he had chance to react.

"Whoa," said Poppy a moment later, as the trio stared at the two bodies on the ground at their feet. "That was lucky they didn't stun us first! Or something worse!"

Cicely laughed.. "Luck, nothing. She reached into her robe and pulled out three wands. "In addition to being a world-class flirt, I am a terrific pickpocket."

Rolanda grinned in spite of the seriousness of the situation. "So what's next?"

Poppy shivered. "You've got the stone. Let's get Dumbeldore down here:

Cicely nodded. "I just hope we're not too late."

It did not take long for Dumbledore to get their message and arrive in the alleyway. He arranged a Portkey ("I went to the Ministry and got a Portkey Permit to use until we find Minerva," he explained) and the placed the men's hands on it with their own. The Portkey was a stone about twice the size of the one Rolanda was still holding, and very colorful. They traveled back to Hogwarts where Albus woke Malfoy ("Ennervate!") and gave him a cup of tea. With Veritaserum present in the liquid. Another permission he had obtained from his ministry visit. Albus asked the questions.

"What is your full name?"

"Alcapricious Lucius Malfoy."

"What house were you in at Hogwarts?"

"Slytherin."

"What is your greatest fear?"

"What are you askin' that for?"

"Please, Miss Pomfrey, these are control questions. Your greatest fear, Mr. Malfoy?"

"My grandfather."

"Where is Tom Riddle?"

"Field."

"Is Minerva McGonagall with him?"

"Yes."

"Where is this field?"

"Forest."

"Which forest?"

"Black Heart Forest."

"Did he hurt her!" That was Poppy again.

"Yes."

"Black Heart Forest?" repeated Albus, ignoring the teenage girl. "The field at its center?"

"Yes."

"Is Minerva alive?"

"Yes."

"Are there others with him?"

"Four others."

Albus picked up his quill and a bit of parchment.

"Who?"

"Waldorphus Macnair, Tobias Jeffers, Trayton Jeffers and Keisaun Beacon."

"And who is that man?" Albus gestured to the heavyset one who was still knocked out.

"Donovan Knott."

Albus nodded. "Dormirus!" He called, pointing his wand at Malfoy. He then woke Knott and performed the same spell.

"They will sleep now until they are awakened by the counter curse. You girls go to the hospital wing and wait."

"No way!" "Please, Sir!" "You can't!" Cicely, Rolanda and Poppy protested in unison.

"We have to go with you, Sir! We do!" Poppy insisted, but Albus shook his head.

"It could be dangerous, girls. I cannot put students in that sort of danger."

"With all due respect, sir. I am no longer a student." said Rolanda, seriously.

"I know, Miss Hooch, hence the fact I trusted you with the Contact Stone. But I cannot bring you along, because even though you are of age I would feel responsible if anything should happen to you. You have a very good Quiddich career in your future. I see no reason to jeopordize it. I will return shortly."

He grabbed the multi-colored stone Portkey and was gone.

The girls, muttering their annoyance and voicing their worries, hurried along to the hospital wing.

* * *

Albus arrived at the edge of the forest. It took him over and hour, but he walked until he saw the clearing in the center of the Black Heart Forest, called this because at its center (its 'heart') it is empty, barren of all trees and wildlife.

He could see five men in the middle of the forest. Tom Riddle was talking animatedly in the center of the group, and the others were laughing. He scanned the clearing and finally he saw her. Minerva. She was lying on the edge of the woods on the opposite side. She looked a mess, but he saw her move slightly as he watched, and he breathed a sigh of relief to know that she was still alive. He apparated to the other side of the forest, by her side, and made himself invisible. He crept over to her (as he cannot make himself soundless as well) and put a hand lightly on her shoulder. He was sure that, had she more energy, she would have jumped at his touch, but she barely flinched.

"Minerva," he whispered. "It is I, Albus."

"Oh good," she whispered back. "Now I'm simply going mad."

"No, Min, it is me." He slid his hand in hers. "Can you feel my hand?

"All I feel is pain."

"Hey, who she talking to?" one of the Jeffers' brothers said to the other.

"Gone off the deep one, I reckon. Took her bloody long enough!"

"When was the last time you Obliviated her, Keisaun?" asked Riddle, sneering.

"Uh, actually I didn't boss. Thought she might wanna remember the weekend, no?" This set them off laughing again, and infuriated Dumbledore. He looked down at Minerva again and wiped a tear of her face. He could tell she'd been crying because the dirt on her cheeks was missing from a few places, in lines, like stripes down her face.

"I will take care of you," Albus whispered. He apparated right next to the five men, and appeared.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Exclaimed Tobias Jeffers, a Hogwarts soon-to-be seventh year. "Bloody hell!" And he took off running. His brother followed him for about fifteen feet before coming to the realization that he was perfectly capable of apparition.

Meanwhile, Beacon had also disapeared, and Tom tried to as well, but to no avail.

"Anti-disapparation charm, eh old man? Clever."

"Why'd you do it, Tom?"

He shook his head furiously. "That bitch made a fool of me in front of my friends. No one does that to Lord Voldemort. No one!"

"And that constitutes this?"

"Sod off, Dumbledore." Tom shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Just having some harmless fun, that's all."

"You are aware that she is with child."

"With–since when? No way." For the first time in several years, Albus recognized something truly human in Riddle's eyes. Fear. Guilt. And compassion.

"Nearly five months."

"But that means, I reckon, but she...I thought she just got fat."

"Harmless fun, Tom?"

"Let me leave!" Tom pulled out his wand. "Or a duel! I challenge you to a duel!"

Albus did not pull out his wand.

"Let me leave!"

"You need to answer to what you've done," said Albus Dumbledore cooly.

Riddle glared at him, and when he opened his words a strange hissing sound came out.

Then, "Help me!" Minerva cried out.

Dumbledore swirled around to look at Minerva, and was appalled to see a dozen large, poisonous snakes advancing on her.

He ran towards her, banishing the snakes with his wand. By the time he reached her and the threat was gone, so was Tom Riddle.

"Take hold of this rock with me, Minerva. Are you okay to travel by portkey?"

She could barely open her eyes when she whispered, "He calls himself Lord Voldemort now."

* * *

A/N

So, in the next chapter the healing begins. As a matter of fact, chapter twelve is called The Healing Process for just that reason. I tried to show less Minerva angst in this and focus more on finding/saving her. Sorry I could not answer your questions (namely about the baby) in this chapter, but you're gonna have to wait until she gets to Madam Pomfrey, she's in charge of the medical mumbo jumbo around here (lol). I hope you liked this chapter, even if it is kind of lacking in, well, Minerva. :) I promise that, after the next chapter (which is less angsty)it will start to venture more into happier, fluffier, sweeter territory again...Please review!

AL


	12. This Thing of Darkness

**"This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine."  
-The Tempest**

**Chapter Twelve: The Healing Process**

When Albus arrived in the hospital wing, Poppy, Rolanda, Cicely, and Prudence Pomfrey were waiting for him. He held Minerva in his arms the way one might hold a sleeping or sickly child. Madam Pomfrey gasped when she caught sight of Minerva, the blood dried on her face, so pale and bruised and obviously in pain.

"Put her here," she ordered Albus, and he complied by laying her on the hospital bed nearest to them. "Poppy, close off the doors, and put a sign that I am to be interrupted only in the case of an extreme emergency.

But Poppy did not move. She did not even acknowledge her mother's command, but rather stared intently at her best friend, her expression a mix of terror, compassion, anger and confusion.

"I will do it, Madam Pomfrey," said Rolanda. Prudence nodded and the teenager exited to do what was asked.

"Cicely, take Poppy away, will you? Go wait in my office."

Poppy still said nothing, eyes fixated on Minerva's seemingly lifeless form. Cicely put her hand gently on the seventh-years arm, but Poppy shook her head and remained rooted where she stood.

"Oh all right then!" Cried Madam Pomfrey, exasperated. "Cicely, _you _go to my office and wait there, I'll send Rolanda in once she's back."

"I'm back," said Skipper Hooch. "Come on, Poppy." This time, Poppy allowed herself to be led away with the others.

Meanwhile, Albus conjured up a chair and placed it at Minerva's bedside. While Prudence worked to examine the patient using both magical spell tests and the more muggle method of examination, Albus stroked Minerva's hair and tried to talk to her, to be reassuring.

It was about twenty minutes before Minerva vocally responded to any of their questions. By this time, Prudence had washed the blood for her face, and (with Albus' back turned) removed her robes and clothes and replaced it with a standard hospital robe.

Minerva tried to explain her ordeal, but found it far too difficult.

"Hush, Min," said Albus softly to her. "You need not say anything just now. But the sooner you can speak of it, the sooner you can begin to heal."

"Speaking of healing," Prudence said, her face ashen-colored as she checked the results of one of her magical tests by sticking some sort of wooden instrument in a potion to which she had, moments before, added three drops of Minerva's blood. "Suppose you could let me alone to do my job, Professor?"

Her sharp tone surprised the Deputy Headmaster. Nevertheless, he refused to leave. "No, Madam Pomfrey, I believe it will be best if I–"

"It would be best for you to go. To my office, please. And send in Poppy with a quart of Sacred Bizeene and a small box of powdered Coral, will you?"

"I will get it–"

"You will send in Poppy, please." Though Prudence was polite, Albus could tell she was furious...with him. And he had a rather good idea why...

"You do not understand, Prudence," he began, but again she cut him off.

"One quart of Sacred Bizeene and powdered Coral, please."

Shaking his head, Albus did as he was told. Once out of ear shot, Prudence sat down in the chair beside Minerva's bed.

"Minerva, dear," she said quietly, propping her up slightly on a pillow. "Did you know that you...were...pregnant?"

Minerva felt her chest tighten. "I was?" She asked, eyes filling with tears again.

"Yes," said Madam Pomfrey, shaking her head. "You did not know?"

"I..." Minerva realized that Prudence was missing the emphasis the girl had placed on 'was.' She was terribly afraid to voice her fear, but she had to ask: "Am I not...now?"

"No, child," Madam Pomfrey answered with a sigh. "You are not, now. You were how far along, exactly? The test can only tell me the second trimester."

"Eighteen weeks...I'm not, now?" She could not believe it. Even as everything was happening to her, as she was being hit, kicked, cursed and hexed, she always thought...her baby...But what about the ancient magic, the magic that protects children and babies and mothers-to-be? What about that!

"Why..." she whispered, barely audible..."Where is Albus?"

Prudence's eyes flashed cold again. "I am just about to go and speak to him. I will send your friends in."

Minerva nodded weakly, allowing her eyes to close as she silently mourned for her unborn child.

Cicely, Rolanda, Poppy and Albus were sitting in silence in the office when Prudence Pomfrey entered.

"I could not find the Coral," said Poppy, looking up at her mother, who ignored her words.

"Girls, go and sit with Minerva. Do not ask too many questions, and try to refrain from touching her, her skin will be very sensitive. Oh, Poppy, wait a moment. I need to speak with you. Albus, wait outside my door, won't you? I'd like a word when I'm through with my daughter."

Albus nodded and stood outside the door to her office, but he longed to see Minerva and it bothered him that Prudence was being so...impossible. 'At least she used my first name this time,' He thought. But if he ventured to guess that it meant she was no longer angry with him, he was sadly mistaken.

In the office, Prudence had a few questions to ask her just-turned-seventeen year old offspring.

"Be honest with me young lady."

Confusion crossed Poppy's face. "About what?"

"Albus Dumbledore, and Minerva...they are...what is their, er, relationship? I know you'd know if anything was going on...I need to know, Poppy."

"I..." Poppy paused. To tell would be a direct betrayal of Minerva's confidence, but could keeping it a secret hurt her friend too? Poppy decided to be diplomatic in her response. "I think that...that she cares for him very much."

"And he?"

"He seems to...to like her...too. I suppose. Why, Mother, must you know?"

"That is none of your concern. Have you ever witnessed a time when their...relationship...seemed less-that-professional?"

Poppy rolled her eyes. "Like you mean kissing and stuff like that?"

"You've seen kissing? Poppy Shayne Pomfrey, I expect–"

"Mother! It's none of your business, how's that?"

Moving faster than a Snitch, Prudence's hand raised and connected with her daughter's cheek.

"Do not get smart with me, Poppy Shayne. Go on, and send Albus in."

"What, planning on beating him senseless too?" the teenager snapped as she tore open the door and stepped from the office.

"She wants to see you next, Professor. I advise you to be on your guard; She's a bloody psycho!"

Albus raised an eyebrow and watched Poppy walk around the curtains to where Minerva lay.

"Prudence?" He said cautiously as he opened the door.

"She will need a place to stay when the students arrive," Prudence informed Albus, her back to him. "She will need to take several medications, and someone will have to watch her well."

"I will take care of her," he offered, and she swivelled around, her hands shaking slightly from fury. "I bet you will! You are damn lucky, Albus Dumbledore, that I feel Miss McGonagall has been through quite enough, or I would report you to the school governors in a heartbeat! Never, never in all my years, and you, whom I'd least expect it from, I cannot even fathom!"

"Care to fill me in, Prudence, or must I guess what has you so stirred up?"

"I have never been so infuriated in all my days here at Hogwarts!"

"We've established that," he stated calmly, the twinkle in his blue eyes barely present. "May I inquire as to why?"

"Inquire! As if you've no idea! Nearly five months pregnant, that would have made her a student, Albus, and to think that you then arranged for her to come here, ingenious really, that–"

"I gather, Prudence, that you assume it was I who impregnated Minerva?"

Prudence stopped shaking. She opened her mouth and closed it again. She really had not planned to say it, in so many words, but rather to scold Albus the way she would Poppy (or Minerva, if she was well). Suddenly, Prudence was aware that she was yelling not at her daughter or her daughter's friend, but at a fellow Hogwarts employee, the Deputy Headmaster no less! Her cheeks flushed bright pink.

"I am sorry, Albus, to have blown up at you, but you see...I figured..."

"It is alright, Prudence. I assure you that I had nothing to do with the conception of that child, which, I'm assuming, did not survive the torture?"

Prudence nodded, and Albus shook his head.

"I also feel it is necessary to tell you that I do care from Minerva as more than just a former student, and our relationship, while not as far progressed as I'm sure you thought, is no longer strictly professional. All this, however, has happened since Minerva returned to Hogwarts this summer, and not before. And, like I said, unless she would rather go either home and have her mother hire a live-in Healer, or simply stay at St. Mungo's, I would be more than content to set her up a room adjacent to mine until she can be alone, in which case she can move back to her old rooms. If she still wishes to become an Animagus, she will need a lot more work, especially now that we are falling so far behind, it may be some time before she is actually able to begin trying to transfigure herself into her animal form. I reckon this should be talked over with her at a later time, after she has had chance to adjust, and heal, both mentally and physically."

"Yes," replied Madam Pomfrey. "Yes, yes of course."

"If you do not mind, I would like to speak with Minerva now. Privately."

Prudence and Albus exited the office and returned to Minerva's bedside.

"Girls, let us go eat dinner. Professor Dumbledore has agreed to sit with Minerva.

When none of the three showed any intention of moving, Albus repeated Prudence's instructions.

"Please, girls. You need to eat. I assure you your friend will be most safe in my care."

He waited until they were gone to sit beside Minerva again.

"Min? Can you speak?"

"Sit by me," she responded, and he did so. She was still propped up on the pillow so that she was sitting, though slumped, beside him.

"My baby is gone, Albus," she said, tears again filling the eyes she thought could cry no more. "He killed my baby."

When Prudence returned an hour later, without the girls whom she had ordered to bed, Albus and Minerva were still sitting that way, him beside her on the bed, holding her as she sobbed long into the night.

* * *

A/N

And...there's the healing process...begun...

And soon, he'll be taking care of her, and then...well, can't give too much away, but we'll be jumpin' a coupla yrs in the future. But never fear, you won't miss anything, I promise...And it will be getting more lovey-like and less angsty, I swear on the headstone of Nearly Headless Nick!

...Okay, you know the drill, I update, you review! Thanks:) AL


	13. To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

**Chapter Thirteen**

**More Healing, More Pain**

"**To die, to sleep; to sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub. For in that sleep of death what dreams may come."**

**-Hamlet**

After four long, dull, uncomfortable days in the hospital wing, Minerva was ready to be moved elsewhere. Prudence was still concerned, however, about leaving her alone. Poppy offered to stay in her chambers with her, but as school was about to start, Madam Pomfrey did not feel that the option was appropriate. Rolanda had to leave on the third day to begin training with the Chudley Cannons, so Cicely and Poppy spent much of their days together, at Hogwarts, Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley.

The third day, the day Skipper departed and the others two girls were buying school supplies, Minerva's family paid her a visit.

"Minerva McGonagall!" Her mother had exclaimed after embracing the still-bruised and pained young adult. "Why did you not tell me straight away what happened to you! I would have come right here, to be by your side! I cannot believe that no one from the school thought to inform me of this incident!" She glared at Dumbledore and Pomfrey as she said that last sentence.

"Mother, please," Minerva began softly. "I did not want you to see me the way I was three days ago. Look at Mariah, she started to cry the moment she saw me! Imagine your reactions had you seen me at my worst? I thought I'd rather not put you through that. As a matter of fact, I was going to wait to tell you until after the bruises were gone from my face and I am again able to walk, but other people seemed to think the sooner you found out, the better." This time it was Minerva's turn to glare in the direction of Dumbledore and Pomfrey.

"Oh, Minnie-kins, look at you!" cried Mariah, as tears continued to flow freely down her cheeks. "You look right awful!"

"Leave her be," McKayla broke in, for which Minerva was grateful. "You're not exactly helping things, Rye. Here, Minerva, look. The children made you a card."

She thrust a larch piece of folded parchment at her younger sister, and Minerva opened it and read the message aloud.

"Auntie Minerva,

We are very sad that you are sick and hurt and we want you to get better very soon. We also want to know if you can change into an animal yet? But mostly we want to know for you to tell us if you are going to be better soon so you can get well soon. And Wickett says thank you for the nice doll you sent for her birthday she likes it a lot. So get well soon. Love, Conrad Junior, Gretchen, Wickett and Nicholas. PS It was Gretchen's idea to make a card but I wrote it so it's mostly from us plus Wickett kind of helped and Nicholas is the one who scribbled on the front. Love, CJ."

Minerva couldn't help but smile. "You may tell the children," she told her sister, "That I have managed a tail, and I will be sure to notify them when I am a full Animagus, and thank them for their kind words."

"What little darlings," cooed Prudence, looking at the card over Minerva's shoulder. "How old are they now, McKayla?"

"CJ is seven, Gretchen is six, Wickett is four and the baby is two," the twenty-eight year old stated proudly.

Prudence smiled. "And how old are yours, Mariah?"

"Elisa is four, Mathew is three and the baby, Craigan, is just over three months old."

"My goodness, I had no idea you had another one!"

"Minerva, dear," her mother said, sitting beside her on the bed. "Why don't you come home so we can take care of you?"

Minerva glanced at Albus briefly before meeting her mother's eye. "Thank you, Mother, but I think I would rather remain here for now. I have a room, and I can check in with Madam Pomfrey daily, and I think that seeing Poppy regularly will lift my spirits considerably, and when I am able to, I can get right back into my Animagus training. Besides, it's always so crazy and loud at home, what with the little angels underfoot all the time." She said this with a smile so as not to offend her sisters, who could be rather sensitive regarding their children.

"Well, alright then, Minerva. But if you change your mind…and please remember to check in with me, often! Send owls, I don't want you coming through the fire, understand?"

"Yes, Mum."

The visitors left shortly afterwards.

* * *

The next day, as she was preparing to go back to her chambers, Albus came by to speak to her.

"You are sure you do not wish to return home to you mother?" He asked, sitting beside her on her bed and taking her hand.

"I am sure," answered she. "Though…"

"Yes?"

She took a deep breath. "Though I worry about being all alone, at night. I…I have nightmares…every night. Here, Madam Pomfrey is nearby, and Poppy has come to sit with me every night, she's been sleeping in that bed there," she gestured to the one next to hers, "and sneaking back to the bedroom every morning before her mother sees. I do not want everyone thinking that I am weak, Albus. I do not wish anyone to think that."

"Minerva, first of all, not one of us has ever entertained the notion that you are a weak individual. Quite the contrary, actually. But if you would like…" He stopped and thought a moment. "If you would like, I could set up a room for you adjacent to mine, only temporarily of course. You would not have to tell Madam Pomfrey if you are worried she will not think you are well enough to be left alone yet, though I do suggest you inform your friends, because I am sure that they will want to sneak from the common room at night and visit you, and I fear they might panic to find you gone."

She smiled at him, and he noticed it seemed to be her first truly genuine smile since the ordeal began. "I would like that very much…Do you really reckon Poppy will be sneaking out to see me often?"

"Well, she sneaks out nearly every night for some reason. I do not see why this year would be any different from the last few." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. "I should go set up that room for you now," said he, standing.

"Please do," she said, before laying down her head and closing her eyes. When she opened them again, it was time to leave the Hospital Wing.

The room Albus set up for Minerva was nearly identical to the one she had been staying in all summer. He had even taken the liberty of gathering some of her personal things, books, shampoo, and the like, and bringing them to her new chambers. The entrance to her bedroom was just off of his sitting room, as was the door to his bedroom. She settled in, and they arranged to eat dinner in the sitting room. They then played a game of chess (Minerva won easily, and she sensed that it was because he did not have the heart to try and beat her, so she more or less slaughtered his chessmen before capturing his king). They retired to their separate rooms after clearing away the game, though both could not help but secretly recall the night before her kidnapping, her sense of "feeling" the baby, his whisper in her ear, sleeping together, just sleeping, so comfortably…

Less than a week ago, Minerva's biggest worry was about her baby and what to do with it. Now, the baby was no longer an issue, physically, and yet nothing was any easier. Minerva silently wished, as she undid her braid and lay down in her bed, that she could turn back the clock to that very moment, lying in his arms, when her biggest problems were sneaking out in the morning without him seeing her blushing…Life certainly had not seemed easy at the time, but its hurdles paled in comparison to the present.

Minerva, exhausted from all of the walking, moving, and thinking of the day (more than she had done in the previous three days combined!), fell asleep just after her head hit the pillow…but sleep did not last long.

* * *

Albus, too, was sleeping. Sleeping, and dreaming. In his dream he was in his Animagus form, a small hummingbird, flitting about close to the ground, just above the flowers. He heard something and spun around in midair…It was a cat! A gray tabby cat, staring him down… _Oh my!_ He thought and attempted to fly away. The cat, being too quick for him, had already pounced and held him between her front paws. His wings beat furiously as he tried to escape, panicking slightly as the cat's jaw opened and out of its mouth came an awful sound…

A scream! The cat was screaming a high-pitched, horribly pained scream. Albus bolted up in bed. It took him perhaps two second to realize that he had awoken, but the scream was continuing.

"Minerva!" He gasped. His eyes searched around the room for his robe, but, as her screams continued, he disregarded the formality (he had worn muggle-style pajama pants and a shirt to bed, just in case) and he sped into her room.

"Minerva!" He whispered loudly, holding her shoulders and slightly shaking her. "Minerva, wake up! You're dreaming, Minerva! Wake up!"

Her screams halted abruptly, but her eyes did not open. She was breathing very heavily.

"Min," he whispered less urgently, but with his voice still firm. "Please, look at me."

Her eyes opened very slowly, and he loosened his grip on her shoulders. He could feel that she was trembling, and it broke his heart.

"I…I dreamt…"

"It's alright, Min. It's over now."

"You don't know…" she whispered, learning her head against his chest. "You've got no idea…what he…did to me…"

"You do not need to tell me," he started to say, but she cut him off.

"Yes…I do…" She raised her head to look into his eyes, and he could see that hers were full of tears, but behind the tears was a look of determination and finality he knew he could not argue with.

"Yes," he whispered. She leaned against him again, and he put his arms around her. It was perhaps five minutes before she spoke again.

"He raped me…" She said at last, and he clenched his teeth to stop himself from exploding with anger.

"He raped me over and over…"

"After he cursed you?" Albus asked, though he wasn't sure the timing even mattered, except perhaps in front of the Wizengamot, if the case ever made it there.

"And once…before…That was how…that was…What I told you, I hadn't wanted to…and then I swore, never again after that, but it did happen again…and it was somehow worse this time…"

"I am so sorry, Minerva."

"No…please…Let me tell you…"

"Alright."

"He…he hit me with every curse he'd ever learned, I'd be willing to bet, and he broke my wand in two, and tied me to a tree, and hit me. And the others, they verbally tormented me…but he was the only one allowed to touch me, he said. He said…he claims to own me…" Again it was perhaps a full five minutes before she was able to continue, but this time the silence in the room as broken her sobbing. Albus was not quite surprised to realize that he, too, had tears streaming down his face.

"He asked me…he seemed to think that…he knew that you and I…"

"Poppy told me a little about that."

"He asked how you feel…with me…and I told him that I didn't know, and he would not accept that answer…he wants you dead, Albus. He wants to kill you…he only…he hurt me because…because he felt that he had lost to you, just as Grindelwald lost to you…as if I…I am not even human, just another…victory…and he needed to win…" Her voice was very quiet, and she sounded as though she was falling asleep again, right there in his arms.

"He will never win, Minerva. And I will never, never allow anyone, Tom Riddle or anyone else, to hurt you again."

"He asked me if I am in love with you…" she said dreamily, eyes closed and he lay her back down. "...and I said yes."

* * *

A/N

So, here is chapter thirteen…an unlucky number? ;)

It's pretty angsty too, I admit, but as you can see I'm shifting back to the likes of chapters 8 and 9, hence they both had 'Dreams' mentioned in their Shakespeare quotes (well, one mentioned dreams, one was from a midsummer night's…but hey) and so does this one!


	14. Journeys End in Lovers Meeting

**Chapter Fourteen:**

**Getting Back On Track**

"**Journey's end in lover's meeting." –Twelfth Night**

Albus did not fall asleep quickly that night, nor did sleep come easily the next three nights. It seemed that every time he would just start to nod off, another nightmare would awaken Minerva, thus interrupting his sleep as well. Not that he minded; he rather enjoyed taking care of her, but a week after her return from the hospital wing, the exhaustion showed on Albus' face. His eyes had dark circles under them, and he had little energy.

The return of students to Hogwarts certainly did not help. He hated leaving Minerva alone during the days, though she assured him that she would be fine. He returned as soon as possible very evening, usually to find her studying her Transfiguration books, playing chess with Cicely, or reading magazines with Poppy. At first it was awkward to come "home" and find two teenage girls in his sitting room, but he assured Minerva that he did not mind her friends presence, he merely insisted that they be very, very careful so as not to be seen entering his chambers.

Minerva seemed to be healing rather well, and she attributed much of her recovery to her little "Hogwarts family," Poppy, Cicely, Madam Pomfrey, and Albus. Especially Albus. Since her summer return to Hogwarts, he had come to mean so very much to her…and she to him.

It had now been exactly one week since Minerva's rescue, and eight days after the ordeal began. Minerva, as usual, spent the morning in bed, studying, and had slowly made her way into the sitting room in the afternoon. Albus had promised to come and eat lunch with her. She was sitting on the small couch, waiting for him, when an Owl arrived for her. It was her sister McKayla's owl, Zimmie! Minerva thanked Zimmie (who landed on Fawkes' perch to rest, much to his dismay) and opened the parcel. Her family had sent homemade cookies, a couple of cards and letters, and some Wizard photographs. The first one Minerva took out showed Mariah, with baby Craigan in one arm, trying to keep Eliza and Mathew from running out of the picture, while their father knelt on the ground, trying to tie Mariah's shoe. The second was of McKayla's family, her four children sitting semi-patiently on the couch. Minerva laughed when she realized that CJ was giving Gretchen 'bunny ears.' Nicholas, the two year old, had grown considerably over the summer, and Wickett was sucking her thumb and clutching the teddy bear Minerva had given her for the child's fourth birthday. There was also a picture of Mariah and McKayla with their Mum, and an older, faded photo of Minerva's father, smiling and trying to teach "Miss. Minnie," who was around 18 months old, to wave to the camera. Minerva felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes, until she was able to put the photographs down.

"Oh, Daddy," she whispered aloud. "What would you think of your little princess Minnie now, after all this? Leaving school pregnant, never telling Mum, spending every night in the arms of my former professor, encouraging Cicely and Poppy to sneak out at night…and feeling little remorse about, well, most of it…I wish you were here, Daddy."

She heard the sound of Marble being moved just then, and looked up to see Albus Dumbledore enter a moment later.

"Good afternoon, Minerva," he said to her, smiling.

She returned his smile, though he could still see the tears in her eyes. "Good morning, Albus."

"Are you alright?"

"My Mum…she sent me, these pictures, you see?" She handed the small stack to him. "That's me, with my father. I was simply…missing him."

Albus sat down on the small couch and put his arms around Minerva. "Look at how smart you were even then! Already with a terrific memory and highly above-average vocabulary."

"You cannot possibly tell all that from one picture."

"But I can tell all that from what I remember your father telling me. You were an adorable baby, Minerva. And you are a beautiful adult." She turned her head towards him, but looked at him on briefly, quickly and shyly averting her eyes to the floor.

"Albus?"

"Yes?"

"I…Never mind." He chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Alright then. Are you hungry? I can summon a house elf; I already warned them I would be asking their services this afternoon."

"Let me put all this in my room," was her reply. She got up cautiously, and made her way into the bedroom very slowly. She was obviously still in quite a bit of pain.

Albus jumped up and took two steps, placing himself beside her. "Please, Minerva, let me—" He began, but she cut him off.

"No, thank you, Albus. I…I need to do this myself." Understanding both what she had said and what she wasn't saying, he nodded and returned to the small couch to wait for her. A few moments later she re-entered the sitting room and made her way painstakingly over to the couch, where she relaxed beside him.

They are lunch and talked about unimportant things for most of the rest of the afternoon. Albus' free time was a result of no classes after twelve on Tuesdays. They discussed plans for the weekend (Minerva was dying to escape the castle, but not sure where she wanted to go…certainly not back to Hogsmeade, she said).

Eventually, it was time for Albus to leave her again. He had a staff meeting, followed by a conference with Headmaster Dippet and the school governors, and then dinner in the Great Hall.

"I will see you later, Minerva," said Albus as he stood up to leave.

"Albus," said she, reaching up and taking his hand. He allowed himself to be guided back down next to her on the couch.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her lightly on the cheek. After having done so he kissed her again, just as lightly, on the lips. She responded to his advance, and slid herself closer to him. Her lips parted slightly, enough to grant his tongue entrance into her mouth. After the all-too-brief kiss ended, he kissed her lightly several times on the lips and at the corners of her mouth.

"You should go," she whispered as he kissed her again. "Or you will be late for your meeting."

"Who cares?" whispered he, ever so lightly nipping at her lower lip.

"Dippet, I'm sure," she murmured as he finally tore his lips from hers.

"But I will see you tonight," Minerva assured Albus with a smile. "Perhaps I'll even let you beat me at chess."

"I assure you, Miss McGonagall, I do not need your help to win." He stood up again and turned to go. Just before he closed the door, she called out to him:

"We'll just have to see about that!"

* * *

A/N Don't worry, just because "journey's end in lover's meeting" does not mean our journey is done yet…just that we've entered a new—stage, if you will. LOL I tried to get a little fluffier here b/c I am trying to transition back to romance and away from the angst, not that from here on there is no more angst or drama, just…different. :) Review if you love me! (no one?) Okay…well…review if you love ADMM! (haha! Got you there!) 


	15. Constant as the Northern Star

**Chapter Fifteen: A Little Fun Stuff. **

**"I am constant as the northern star." Julius Ceasar**

Albus returned some time later, and the pair did indeed play a game of chess…then another…then a third…When Albus had lost to Minerva for the fourth time in a row, he finally conceded that perhaps she was the better player, and they put the board and pieces away.

Minerva slept peacefully that night, all night, the first time she had done so since her kidnapping. Albus, as usual, was right by her side, and he too managed a decent night's rest for the first time in over a week.

Another week passed, and another, and gradually Minerva was feeling like her old self again. She was back to practicing to become and Animagus Albus confided that he thought she would turn out to be a gray Tabby cat. When she asked how he could possibly know that he explained, "I am the great Albus Dumbledore. I just know these things." In response the pushed him away playfully, but since then the very idea of turning into a small, clever, gray tabby cat was incredibly thought consuming, not to mention exciting. A cat, unlike an Elephant or a Rabbit or even a toad, could go almost anywhere and not be noticed. It would be a very good Animagus form.

The third week after she left the hospital wing, she was feeling considerably better. So much so that she agreed to sneak out in the middle of the night with Poppy and Cicely, and slip down to the kitchens, which the future medi-witch assured her friends she does "all the time," and "never, ever" gets caught.

Minerva knew that the hardest part would be to slip out of her room unnoticed. Her chums assured her that Professor Dumbledore would never hear her, provided she tip-toed across the common room and tried not to breathe to loudly or walk into anything, and Minerva had no desire to point out that she was not worried about Albus hearing her walk passed his bedroom door, but rather that he would certainly be aware of the half-unoccupied bed. Finally, Minerva made up her mind about the whole plan: she would not be doing it, and she would tell Poppy as much.

She got her chance to talk to Poppy after her classes were through that afternoon. Cicely joined the pair and the three settled by the edge of the lake, using Cicely's cloak as a makeshift picnic blanket. They brought snacks outside with them, and chitchatted, just like the old days…minus one Rolanda "Skipper" Hooch, of course.

"This is going to be so much fun, girls!" Poppy squealed, taking a bite of her apple. "Sneaking out, I mean. I usually do it alone, because, well…because I get bored in the dormitories and all of that."

"I feel like a spy!" Exclaimed Cicely, then, noting their puzzled expressions, she explained. "A spy is like an unspeakable, except that no one quite knows what Unspeakable's do, but Muggles know just about everything there is to know about spies. They have moving pictures and books and comics and television shows about them. Remember the Telly? I told you about it before."

"Yes, of course," said Minerva, smiling. "It is a big box with a picture in it, and the people can move, just like in our photographs, except that you can hear them speaking. I learned all about it in Muggle Studies."

"That's an awful class, that is. I wish it were Professor Muggle-Git leaving this year, and not Professor Normington. Why should future students have to suffer?" whined Poppy, turning the stem of her apple and humming the alphabet song. "E!"

Cicely and Minerva laughed. "An E!" said Cicely. "Let's see…you'll have to be marrying…Ephram Marchbanks!"

"Yes!" Agreed Minerva. "Or perhaps Zsa-Tahn Ecklefredders!"

"First of all, ladies," Poppy began, quite seriously. "Ephram Marchbanks is going to marry Holly Beth Hewitt, everyone knows that. And secondly, I would never in a trillion years marry Zsa-Tahn Ecklefredders, and not just because he has such a stupid name."

"I don't know," mused Cicely mischievously. "Poppy Shayne Ecklefredders…I kind of like it!"

"Go hop in the lake, Sinistra. Sinister Sinistra! Who are you planning to marry then, eh?" Poppy challenged. Minerva, still smiling, handed Cicely an apple.

"A-B-C-D-E-F-G. G!" Cicely giggled. "Well, that's appropriate, is it not? Gregory Billows!"

"Gregory Billows!" snickered Poppy. "The Quiddich seeker? Every witch in the world under the age of fifty is after him!"

"Ahh, too true, Poppers. But alas, not all of them are such close personal pals with Rolanda 'Skipper' Hooch, Keeper for the Chudley Cannons, not only his teammate, but the girlfriend of his best friend, Harris O'Hara!"

Minerva and Poppy could not respond to this, for they were half in shock.

Finally, after a minute or two, Cicely asked them why they had gotten so silent so suddenly.

"You never told us that—I mean, how were we to—Harris O'Hara! I mean…" Stammered Poppy.

"How long has this been going on, Cicely?" Asked Minerva, grinning as the surprise wore away.

"A couple of weeks, that's all. They've been on several dates, and Gregory asked if she could set him up with a friend. They're both in their mid-twenties, you know, and so gorgeous, and says he's sick of meeting girls who just want to date a famous Quiddich player…So…Our first Hogsmeade weekend, if they can get there too, we're going to have lunch the four of us."

"How very exciting!" exclaimed Poppy, and Minerva agreed.

"Almost as exciting as tonight's plans," agreed Cicely, and Minerva shook her head whilst Poppy nodded heartily.

"I can't do it," Minerva explained to her friends. "I just cannot. What is he waked to find me missing? Why, he'll panic!"

"Does he come checking you your room at night often, Minerva?" asked Cicely, and then a look of realization flushed across her face. "He doesn't need to come and check, does he, Minerva? Min? Oh!"

Minerva's cheeks turned a lovely shade of red, more or less matching the not-yet eaten apple in her hand. "It isn't like that, mates. He simply likes to stay…nearby, in case I should have a nightmare or…something."

Cicely grinned. "Right. Well, nice to know you're on the road to recovery, eh, Poppers?"

"Minerva! I don't care…I…You will be sneaking out with us tonight, if I need to sneak in a place Dumbledore in a full-body bind, and then obliviate his memory later!"

Minerva sighed and rolled hr eyes. "Tell you what, Poppy? I'll see what I can do."

Poppy and Cicely exchanged a Look. "Good," said Poppy. "Now twist your apple's stem. We need to know if it's meant to be or not."

Minerva obliged. "A-B-C-D…D! So there!"

"You cheated!" Poppy exclaimed, but she was smiling. "You must have!"

"Or," Cicely cut in, "Perhaps it's fate."

* * *

A/N

I needed to throw some friends stuff in here, because, well…I did. Next chapter: Minerva attempts a breakout, Cicely teases her about something fluff-related, and Poppy stuns Albus Dumbledore. (Note to readers, I'm just kidding about one of those things…can you guess which! lol)

Please review!


	16. A Cloud Takes All Away

**Chapter Sixteen: Growing Up Lovely**

**O, how this spring of love resembleth the uncertain glory of an April day;  
Which now shows all the beauty of the sun, and by and by a cloud takes all away."**

**The Two Gentlemen of Verona**

A few hours later, Poppy and Cicely were again outside, walking the grounds and discussing all of the good looking Quiddich players of the world.

"Ask Gregory and Harris if any of their other famous friends are looking for someone! Then, tell them you have a sweet, ever so slightly pudgy curly haired darling just waiting for someone to come along and teacher all about life, love, and…well, that's it. Just life and love," Poppy requested of Cicely.

"Just life and love?" mused the dark haired teenager. "Hmm…Come now, Poppington. Pray tell, what you really want to know."

"Just life and love, Love."

"And by that, you mean snogging, eh?"

Poppy's eyes grew very wide at this, and she blushed a beautiful shade of pale crimson. "I certainly do not, Sister Sinistra!"

"Come off it, kid, you're curious and you…speaking of curious…" Cicely had seen something by the trees, just inside the Forbidden Forest. Her eyes instantly began to sparkle, and a devilish grin made its way onto her face.

"What?" Poppy turned around, and it took her a moment to figure out what Cicely was looking at. The she realized, just inside the edge of the forest, not far from the gamekeeper's hut, were two people, a man and a woman. The woman, wearing a long navy skirt, pretty pale pink blouse, and an open black robe, was leaning against the tree, and the man held her hands in his.

"What in the hell…" Began Poppy, but Cicely's glare shushed her.

"Come on, Poppy," whispered the tall, raven-haired girl. "Let's get closer so we can hear what they're saying!" She grabbed Poppy's arm and pulled her into the forest, casting a silencing charm on their feet so as not to make any noise.

"Somehow," Poppy whispered back, "I don't think Minerva is going to like this."

"She'll never know," replied Sinistra. "And shut it, will you!"

* * *

Minerva smiled, and her companion smiled back. "You see," she said, trying to avoid eye contact, "the thing is that I need to try and get used to being alone sometimes, now often, mind you, but what if you should have to go away, and then I will be a royal mess. Perhaps it would be good practice, like therapy, if I…if we…"

Albus' eyes twinkled as usual. "I suspect you have ulterior motives, Miss McGonagall –"

"No, I –"

He held up a hand. "But what they are, you need not tell me. Of course I shall grant your wish, and your reasoning, while I am sure you are not being entirely forthcoming with the 'why,' makes perfect sense."

"Oh, Albus!" Laughter danced over her words as she pushed him away playfully.

"Yes, Minerva?" said he, quietly, learning towards her.

"You are a crazy old bat, did you know?" She asked softly, sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him even closer. (Somewhere in the trees nearby, Cicely was holding her breath and Poppy's highbrows were raised nearly al the way to her hairline).

"I might have heard a thing or two about that," he murmured, just before pressing his lips top hers.

"Oh my!" gasped Poppy aloud, and Cicely's eyes widened. In one swift motion, Cicely grasped Poppy's arm ad yanked her roughly down to the ground in a rather steep ditch to their left. Once safely hidden behind the dirt and rocks and trees, Cicely allowed herself to breath again.

"You idiot!" She hissed in a voice so low Poppy panicked momentarily, thinking that the words had come from a nearby garden snake, lounging on a rock.

Meanwhile, Albus and Minerva had separated themselves and were looking around wildly, afraid that someone was watching.

"I see no one," Albus said at last, "Nor do I hear anything. But to be on the side of caution, we should continue up to the school now. Besides, it's only an hour or so until dinner."

"I do not wish to eat in the dining hall this evening, Albus, so I'll be in my room if you need me." Said she, slipping her arm in his as they walked back to the castle.

* * *

"Damn it, Poppy!" Cursed Cicely when she was sure they had gone. "You ruined the moment!"

"I'm so terribly sorry, Cicely," replied Poppy in a vaguely sarcastic tone, "But some of us do not fancy watching our professor and our best friend snogging each other senseless…Mostly because it's kind of gross!"

"Are you still stuck on that" Cicely stood up and brushed dirt off her robes. "You said just last week how sweet they seem together, and how happy Minerva is…"

"Well, I know that my parents must do 'it' once in awhile but that doesn't mean I want to hear them through the walls!"

Cicely laughed and picked a leaf out of her friend's hair. "Oh, you! It isn't quite the same!"

"We'll talk to her tonight," Poppy began matter-of-factly. "And mention nothing of this, as if it never happened. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Albus and Minervareturned to his chambers.

"Fancy a quick game before dinner?" He asked, gesturing towards the chess set.

"Won't that put you in a bad mood for you meal?"

"Winning, my dear Minerva, could never put me in a foul temper."

She smiled and walked slightly coyly over to him. "Oh, but you never win, remember?"

"Only because you distract me," he countered, sliding his arms around her waist.

She smiled. "You're being silly. I hardly distract you; I am simply the better player."

"Now it is _you_ who is being silly," he said softly, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Am I?" She allowed him to kiss her again, with more force this time. Their kiss grew quickly in intensity (this had been happening rather often lately). He pulled her closer to him and she wrapped her arms again around his neck. She shivered as his hands slid up her back, and around to her stomach, and up…higher…She shivered a second time as his left hand moved to cup her breast.

"Minerva," he whispered huskily in her ear, but she hushed him. "It's alright."

His lips moved from hers to her jaw line, to her neck and shoulder…she allowed him to slide off her wizard's robe, leaving her only in the blouse and skirt her friends had seen her wearing in the woods. She allowed him to un-tuck that pale pink blouse and slide his hand up her midsection again…and a third time she shivered.

"Minerva," he said, adding a slight distance between them. "Are you cold?"

Feeling bold (and, perhaps, something more) she smiled,moved his hand up until he could feel the silky material of her bra, and replied, "Warm me?"

Albus did not need to be told twice. He slid one arm under the backs of her knees and wrapped the other around her, lifting her in the air. He carried her to her bedroom and placed her gently on top of the covers, relaxing on top of her.

The next few minutes were a blur of kisses and caresses and she permitted him to remove her shirt, and helped him out of his. (His robes also lay discarded on the floor).

"You are beautiful," he whispered, placing a series of swift, light kisses down her neck, on her shoulder, across her chest to her other shoulder, and downward,further growing in passion and intensity. He stopped to suck gently on the tender, pale skin just above her bra where her chest spilled just a little over the top of the cream-colored white silken material.

"Albus," she moaned, feeling more pleasure than she had previously imagined foreplay could provide (despite her former pregnancy, she was, after all, rather inexperienced in matters of the bedroom).

"Are you alright?" he asked, as his hands made their way up her skirt to her thighs.

"You always ask me that!" Replied she with a smile. He continued his trail of kisses, stopping just below her navel where his lips met the top of her skirt. He pushed her skirt up above her knees, kissing her legs upwards, upwards until…

Until there was a knock at the door.

Minerva let out a breath of air she had not realized she was holding, and Albus froze.

Another knock. And another. And Headmaster Dippet's voice calling, "Albus? Albus, I need to speak to you before dinner! Albus?"

"Bloody hell," cursed Albus, and Minerva raised an eyebrow. She was unaccustomed to this sort of language from him. From Skipper or Cicely or even Poppy, yes, but not from him.

"Are _you_ alright?" asked she, as he rested his head on her stomach a moment. He kissed just above her navel one last time and stood up, plucking his shirt off the floor.

"Albus! Albus, please, we need to…"

"Coming, Armando!" the deputy-headmaster called, rolling his eyes. Minerva stifled a giggle.

"I'll have him follow me down to my office," he assured Minerva, who nodded.

He picked his robe off the floor and fastened it. After kissing her quickly on the mouth, he moved to exit the room.

"Oh, Minerva?" he said quietly from the doorway.

"Yes?"

"Perhaps you're right…we should probably sleep in separate rooms for awhile."

She smiled and nodded as he left, closing the door behind him.

"But not a long while," she whispered to the pillows.

* * *

That night, Minerva and Albus, after a game of chess (Which he won! Believe it or not) retired to their separate bedrooms. Around one AM, when she was sure he was asleep, Minerva tiptoed across the sitting room to the door, and with one last glance behind her, exited. She slipped down to the kitchens unnoticed, feeling the whole time as if she was breaking some rule ("But you're not," she told herself. "You are no longer a student. You can roam the halls after dark,").

Soon she had reached the painting of the fruit. She tickled the pear and was granted entrance, upon which she found Cicely and Poppy sitting at the smallest of the many tables, drinking hot chocolate.

"Miss would like some heated chocolate drink?" Asked an obviously excited house elf. "Kippy will get some for Miss!"

"Thank you," said she, settling herself at the table.

"Well?" asked Cicely.

"Well…what?"

"Well, was it difficult to escape? You were supposed to be here at 12:45. It'sten past one!"

"Sorry," Minerva said honestly. "We played a game of chess, and then I hate to wait until I was sure he'd gone to sleep. He keeps his bedroom door open, you know!"

"No, we did not know," interjected Poppy, "Nor did we want to!"

Cicely grinned evilly. "Poppy's just jealous. She wants Rolanda and I to find her a Quiddich player so that she, too, can learn all about the fine art of snogging."

Poppy's face flushed tomato red. "That's not true!"

"Isn't it?" countered Cicely. "Admit it, Pomfrey, you're curious!"

"I…uh…Minerva, how are you this evening?"

Minerva laughed. "Nice try, Poppers!"

Just then they heard a noise in the kitchen, a bang. They froze. Then…footsteps!

"Who is it? House elves don't make that kind of noise!" whispered Poppy, worried. "Plus, no one ever comes down here, and if they do they come from the door--over there!"

"Well, do something!" hissed Minerva.

"Like what?" Cicely hissed back.

With a sudden burst of confidence, Poppy threw out the first spell she could think of. The trio gasped as one when they heard a loud thump coming from just across the way. They tore down the entire length of the kitchen, and there was the intruder, lying motionless on the floor…

Poppy had stunned Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

A/N

And you all probably thought I was kidding about that last part! Mwahahaha!

Well, we certainly heated up a thing or two in this chapter, eh? I'm sorry it took so long to get out, I kept re-thinking and re-doing it, and with finals going on, and all the theatre I'm doing…but I know, excuses, excuses. But now that Kerrymdb is back I decided I might as well update too (b/c I now know how tough it is to be invested in a story and get nothing new for over a month)…

I hope you enjoyed! I don't want to end this yet, but I'm not sure what direction ppl want me to go in with it, so suggestions would be awesome…Thanks!

AL


	17. Passion, I See, is Catching

a/n 1: Sorry about the three month break. Had some computer issues, and lost everything. And I mean, everything, all my plans, notes, little bits of future chapters I already wrote, all my Shakespeare quotes... sigh I've finally decided to get back on track and seriously update much, much, much more often. Thanks for reading!

**Chapter Seventeen: What a night!**

**"Passion, I see, is catching." Julius Ceasar**

* * *

"What in all Hell were you thinking, Poppy!" Cicely shouted, her tone bordering on hysteria. "You cannot just send off a Stunning spell in the dark in the school just because you hear a noise!"

"I'm sorry, Cicely! I'm sorry, Minerva! I heard...I just...and I panicked...You never know who could be lurking in the shadows!" Poppy wiped tears from her eyes and knelt down beside the professor where her friends were already stationed.

"That much is true," agreed Minerva quietly. "Well, let's bring him 'round, shall we?" Pointing her wand at him she muttered, "Ennervate." Albus' blue eyes opened slowly and he gazed around in a state of apparent confusion.

"I'm in the kitchens?" he asked, sitting up.

"I am terribly sorry, sir," Poppy began, but Minerva cut her off.

"I stunned you, do you remember?"

"Minerva?" The professor, Cicely and Poppy said in unison.

"Yes?"

Albus cleared his throat. "You girls had better get back to bed. Poppy, ten points from Gryffindor, and Cicely, an additional five. Hurry back to your dormitory, please."

"Yes, sir, and thank you!" said Cicely, grabbing Poppy's arm and pulling her to her feet. "Let's go, Poppers." Blankly Poppy nodded and allowed herself to be steered from the kitchen.

"Walk back with me?" Albus requested of Minerva, and so of course she did. She linked her arm with his as they made their way slowly down the corridors, not talking much.

When they reached the entrance to Albus' chambers, he suddenly turned Minerva so that she was facing him.

"What you did was very noble, Minerva."

"What do you mean?" She asked in what she hoped was an innocent sounding voice.

Her wide eyes and attempted blank expression made him laugh. "Come off it now, Min. I recognized Poppy's voice just before her stunning spell hit me. But for you to take the blame, knowing that for her, she could risk expulsion, but for you, one would understand your paranoia... You know that you're beautiful when your face gets all red like that?"

She pushed him playfully. "My face is not red! Is it?"

"Oh, Minerva!" He kissed her quickly on the mouth and started to pull away, but she slid her hand around to the back of his head and pulled him to her again, this time snogging him passionately. While attached at the mouth, he pulled the pins from her hair and it fell around her shoulders in loose waves of midnight black. Lightly she nibbled on his lip until, unable to stand it, he parted her lips with hr tongue to take the kiss to another level.

It was as if someone had lit a fire beneath the couple, as they erupted into a heated state of extreme passion. He quickly spoke the password to his room and the two collapsed into it, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Ouch!" Exclaimed Minerva suddenly. "You're on my hair!" Quickly Albus rearranged the pair so that he was lying on his back beneath her.

"Better?" asked he, and she simply smiled, placing a series of small, quick kisses on his lips. He captured her head in his hands and brought her down to him, ravaging her mouth with his own.

"Albus," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you, Minerva," he replied, smiling, as his hands made their way up and down her sides, to her waist, to her thighs. He slid his hands to the sides of her legs and pulled her body up so that she was straddled over him. His hands snaked up her robe, touching bare skin.

Involuntarily she gasped, and he seized the opportunity to slip her robe off over her head, leaving her wearing a very pale, very sheer lavender nightgown. Barely a second after her robe hit the floor, Minerva unclasped the neck of Albus's dark blue night robe. As she attempted to free him from it she began to grow frustrated by the sheer number of clasps to the front of his robes. "Bloody hell," she cursed, and he laughed.

"Minerva! Minerva, sit up." She moved off of him and sat by his side. He sat up and slipped his robe off over his head, and then lowered himself on top of her. She swung one leg around his waist and giggled girlishly, which made him smile.

"What?" he asked, and she giggled again.

"I didn't mean to...to say...I mean that...To have said..." she was stammering, but she did not sound nervous at all.

"Bloody hell, Minerva," he interrupted, kissing her cheek, chin, jawline... "What is it?

"That's just it. 'Bloody hell.' If my Mum heard me using that language..."

He laughed again and moved his hands from her waist to her chest. "Let's not think of your Mum just now, eh?"

"Good plan." As his lips and tongue skillfully worked their way around her neck and shoulders Minerva felt her breathing becoming labored. His hands again travled up her legs, thighs... He ran two fingers ever so lightly over her knickers, evoking an emotion (not to mention a physical reaction) she did not previously know she was capable of feeling.

"I think it funny," she said a moment later, "that you wear these muggle pants under your robes. How terribly - gasp - adorable!"

"Well, my dear," he began, sliding one finger just beyond the cotten serperating her most intimate bodypart from his sensual touch and skilled hands. "I think that..." but just then a loud noise halted his words (and, to her dismay, his actions).

"What in Merlin's..." She began but he shook his head and she quieted. It was a knock!

"Not again!" He whispered, his lips so close to her ear that his beard tickled her cheeck and neck. "Yes?" He called, and the voice of Armando Dippet responded:

"Albus! I have discovered two of your students up and out of bed! Can we come in, please?"

He rolled his eyes and inwardly Minerva panicked.

"Now is not a good time, Armando!" Albus replied, trying to keep his voice steady.

But Armando did not relent so easily. "Really, Albus, I feel that this situation should be immediatly dealt with to avoid any further --"

"Really, Armando, now is not a good time!" It was after Albus said this that they heard Cicely's giggle. "Send them to bed," Albus continued, "And I will surely deal with them in the morning!"

"If you wish, Albus. Come along, girls."

Albus and Minerva listened as their footsteps disapeared down the hall (and it occured to Minerva that she had not heard them approach).

"Oh, Albus!" She moaned.

"Yes, Minerva?"

"You can...continue now."

He grinned, teasing her. He moved his fingers ever so slightly and she shuddered. "Are you sure, Minerva?"

"Albus! Please!"

After waving his free hand in the air and mumbling a few choice words ("A silencing and locking charm," he explained) he resumed.

It took perhaps seven seconds for her passion (which had not totally died away) to be aroused again. His mouth continued its assault as well, traveling down her neck, across her chest and down. She felt his tongue's gentle massage of her breast despite the silk cloth of her nightgown that was still seperating them.

Her hands were not still either. After running them all along his upper body, Minerva's rested momentarily on his back. She dug her nails into his skin ever so slightly as the need to feel more of him consumed her. He was still pleasuring her with his fingers, and pleasure she felt, unlike any she had known before. His lips moved back up to her neck, and she could feel his ... desire ... pressing into her hip. Curious (and overcome with animalistic instinct) she slid her hand down his chest and stomach, until she reached the bulge in his muggle pj pants.

"Minerva," he whispered huskily into her ear, and the mere sound of his voice, combined with his warm breath on her neck, caused her to shiver.

"Minerva, I need to... I want to know... If you..."

She moved his head so that he was staring directly down at her, into her eyes. "What is it, Albus?"

"If you need me to...stop...I need to know now..."

"Albus, make love to me?"

"Are...are you sure, Minerva? Are you ready to...?"

"Yes. I love you...and...I want you."

"Minerva, you cannot, should you regret this tomorrow, I would feel awful, because I could not change what has--"

This time she cut him off mid-sentence. "I love you. I want you. I want to feel you inside me and I want to make you happy and I never want you to let me go. Feel better?"

He grinned and kissed her lovingly. "Works for me," said Albus, pulling himself into a sitting position. He took her hands and they stood together, and just as he had that afternoon he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

But he could not get the door open with her in his arms, and in their state of passion neither thought to use magic. He set her down against the door and she pulled his body flush to hers. He turned the knob and the collapsed into the bedroom, snogging all the while. He slipped her nightgown over her head and tossed it to the floor, then held her at arms length for a moment. "You are so beautiful," he whispered, and she blushed. Taking his hand in hers she relaxed on the bed and he removed the last of their clothing with a casual wave of his hand, which made her laugh.

She gasped when he entered her, and he noticed that she winced as well. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned. But she smiled reassuringly. "I am," she answered.

They made love gently and passionatly, breathing as one and feeling incredibly connected. After they were through they fell asleep in each others arms, content, satisfied, together.

* * *

About three hours later Minerva awoke, and it took her about half a second to remember all that had transpired. Her eyes widened when she realized that she was still naked, and she could feel her whole body blushing. "Stop it," she told herself. "It isn't as if it matters now, does it? Nothing to be embarassed about." But she found she could not fall back asleep sans clothing. Silently she slipped out from under Albus's protective arm and tiptoed across the floor to wear her nightgown had landed. She pulled in on over her head and slipped back into bed unnoticed. Albus had rolled onto his back when she was looking for her nightgown, so she put her arm around him and rested her head on his chest. Content, she fell back to sleep, so happy she was practically purring.

* * *

The next morning, Albus woke around eight-thirty. For nearly twenty minutes he lay motionless, Minerva in his arms, watchin her sleep. Finally, her eyelashed fluttered and, a few moments later, she awoke.

"Good morning," he whispered, and she snuggled closer to him. "Morning," she replied.

"Any plans for today?" asked he. It was Saturday, and not a Hogsmeade weekend, not that it mattered for her as she was free to visit the village whenever she wanted to.

"Are you busy?"

"Well, after I meet with your friends about being out of bed, I have some things to go over with the Headmaster before next week's conference."

Conference? "What conference?"

"Just something I have to go to. He is asked to either attend himself of send his deputy. He has not yet said for sure whether I will be going, but as far as I can remember, it's always been me. He'll cover my classes for a few days...Do you not remember this from when you were a student?"

"Well, yes. But I suppose I did not...think...too much about it."

"I will be leaving Monday evening and returning Thursday morning." He paused, catching her expression. "It won't be so bad Minerva...Perhaps...Perhaps you can even accompany me. You can claim to be going home to visit, as we cannot work with me in London anyway. What do you think?"

"I think that sounds wonderful," she said, kissing him briefly on the lips. "As for today, I'll probably just see what Cicely and Poppy are up to and hang about with them awhile. Will you be free to eat dinner with me tonight? Here? I was thinking that perhaps I can cook for you?"

He was somewhat surprised. "Sounds lovely! You cook?"

"I can try."

He laughed and pulled her back into his arms. It was then that she noticed he was wearing his pj pants from the night before.

"How...?" she asked, touching the material lightly.

"It's magic."

She laughed and he joined in.

"Minerva, to be serious, there is something you...ought to do today. And I can, er...accompany you if you'd like."

"What is it, love?"

"Prudence, I mean, Nurse Pomfrey does not like for the students to know, because we do not advocate...We... She keeps a supply of emergency birth control potions in her office, under a muggle lock and key that magic cannot break in to. You should probably...and if you are nervous, I can go with you to ask her..."

"I'll go alone. If you come with me, she might kill you, do you think? Maybe Cicely will join me for...moral support."

"Are you sure? You have twenty-four hours. Well, less now, more like 18 hours. Alright?"

She blushed yet again, but hoped he did not notice. "Alright."

* * *

a/n continued:Okay, I mentioned that I lost everything I had on the computer, which was sad, but then I lost my desire to re-do everything, my plans, my lists, my partially written chapters... sigh But I am back on track now, and I wanted to get this out before Half-Blood Prince takes over the world! lol I hope you all are still reading this (of course, if you're reading the a/n, you must still be reading the story) and I thank you for your patience. Please review, and let me know what you think of this extended lemon (I tried to keep it more or less clean; I don't want to get kicked off ffnet!) and give me suggestions for what will happen next. I want to have chapter 18 up soon, and in it Minerva will have to talk to Poppy, and Armando will be having a talk with Albus... Anything else you want to see happen? Let me know!

:)  
AL


	18. O True Apothocary

**Chapter 18: Prudence Pomfrey**

**"O true apothecary!  
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss..."**

**-Romeo and Juliet**

* * *

Minerva showered, got dressed, braided her hair, and took several deep breaths before exiting Albus' chambers that morning. She had rehearsed what she would say to Nurse Pomfrey several times while getting ready for the day, but did not feel at all confident about her impending talk with the mediwitch. She got perhaps fifteen feet from the entry to the hospital wing when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into a small storage room. It was sort of dark and dusty and filled with various odds and ends, old furniture, a mirror apparently called The Mirror of Erised, a couple of broken trophies and a small piano. The person swivelled Minerva around and she let out the breath she had been holding since the person had grabbed her. 

"Cicely! Cicely Sinistra, do not do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Minerva scolded, barely noticing Poppy, who slipped through the door behind them.

"Sorry, Minerva. We just wanted to speak with you. About last night." Minerva raised an eyebrow and Cicely grinned. "I do not know if you are aware, dear Minerva, but Poppers and I were caught out of bed last night, by Headmaster Dippet."

Minerva tried to appear surprised. "Were you?"

"Oh, yes, we were. Right, Poppy?"

Poppy giggled "We were."

"So, Minerva, after we were caught, he brought us to Dumbledore's chambers, but alas, he was too busy to let us in," Cicely continued, smiling wickedly. "Why was he too busy, Minerva? Hmm? Just...just out of curiosity."

"Curiosity," Minerva stated, "Killed the cat."

"Then it is lucky," countered Cicely, "that none of us are of the pussy persuasion. Pussy-cat, I mean."

"You're awful! What if a professor heard you talking like that?" exclaimed Poppy, eyes wide.

Cicely rolled her eyes. "Oh, come off it, Poppy. Now, Minerva! Tell us... why was he busy last night?"

"What makes you think it was something... inappropriate?"

"I just know. I saw how he looked at you in the kitchens, come on, he wanted you something fierce, and you can't deny it!"

Minerva felt her face going red. Great. She had been able to control it up to that point, but she was afraid she could hold back from her friends no more.

"Okay," she began. "But maybe Poppy ought to leave the room. I'm pretty sure she can't handle the details this time."

Well, being the lady that she was (is, and will always be), Minerva did spare them much of the details, but she did touch on the more important points.

"So," Cecily decided to recap after Minerva finished speaking, "You made out on the floor, and that's why he couldn't open the door." Minerva nodded, blushing (yes, again!) And Poppy turned a little green (yes. Again.). "Then you stupidly told him you love him, which a girl should never do first, and then he said he loved you too, and then Dippet knocked, and then we left... and then you woke up together? I think we're missing something in the middle of all that."

"Cecily!" exclaimed Poppy. "We don't need anymore than that, do we? I mean, I've got the picture."

"Well, I don't quite have the picture, yet," said Cicely, grinning. "If you would continue, Minerva..."

"I do not plan to paint a more clear picture than that!" exclaimed Minerva. "So who wants to come with me to visit Madam Pomfrey?"

Poppy shook her head. "Not me, no way. My Mum? You'll be lucky to leave their alive. And she's probably kill me later, just for knowing you! No thanks."

Cicely giggled and rolled her eyes. "I'll come, Minerva. Let's go."

So Poppy returned to her room, and Cicely went with Minerva to speak to Prudence Pomfrey. Cicely remained outside the door of the mediwitch's office while Minerva went inside.

"Bonne chance," Cicely whispered reasurringly, but Minvera barely nodded.

Prudence Pomfrey was seated at her desk, reading, when Minerva interrupted.

"Nurse Pomfrey?"

"Oh, Minerva dear! How are you? How are you feeling?" the nurse put a hand to Minerva's forehead and waved her wand around the girl's midsection as she spoke. "You've been recovering nicely, and you look so healthy too! Not so pale... You must be eating well?"

"What? Oh, uh, yes. I try to."

"Very good. So, what can I do for you, dear?" Madame Pomfrey was bustling around, straightening and rearranging various potions and cure-alls.

"I need some...potion." Minerva said, trying to appear confident.

"Sure, dear. What do you need?"Prudence had her back to Minerva as she dusted off a couple of very old vials of medicinal liquid.

"Ineedsomebirthcontrolpotion," Minerva said very quickly, staring at the floor.

Prudence chuckled. "You're going to have to speak a little more clearly, Minerva. My ears are not as sharp as they once were."

Minerva took a deep breath. "I need some birth control potion."

There was a long pause, then Prudence turned slowly to face Minerva.

"You do." she said. Her expression was unreadable.

"Please?"

"Because you are an adult, Minerva, and because I realize that you have been though hell this year, and because I feel you have far too much potential to be throwing your future away, I will give you one dosage. But that is all...It is for emergency purposes only."

It took a moment for Prudence's words to sink in, and when they did Minerva felt herself pale. "Do you mean...?" she asked, "That I could already be..." She placed a hand delicately on her midsection.

"I doubt it. Honestly, Minerva...I did not wish to tell you then, to add more strain..The body is a complicated instrument, Minerva."

"What are you saying, Madam Pomfrey?"

"I am not sure that you can conceive again, Minerva. In a few months I can run some more tests...and until then you should continue to be...careful. Though I daresay you are of age, and can buy proper contraceptive potion at the apothecary. And I would appreciate it if you would not mention my supply of such potions to any of the students, including Poppy and Cicely. We prefer they not know about such things, we believe this makes them more careful...Here." Prudence handed Minerva a small bottle. "Drink it straight down, and I warn you it tastes awful."

It did taste horrible, but Minerva drank it anyway. She handed the bottle to Prudence Pomfrey and made her way to the door.

"Minerva?" Prudence called when the girl had her hand on the doorknob.

"Yes?"

"Be very careful, dear. With your health and your life. Do not fall in love too fast." Prudence paused before continuing. "Albus Dumbledore has been a bachelor for a good, long time, Minerva. Do not presume to think that no woman has ever been in love with him before. I am not saying that he does not...enjoy your company. But you are no more special than any of the other women, many women perhaps, who have fallen for him before and been devastated upon learning that he cannot be tied down. You are of age, and I cannot tell you how to live you life. The only advice I can offer is to be practical, be realistic, do not put too much faith in this 'relationship' too soon, for I would hate to see you hurt again. And I am not saying that he would hurt you on purpose, a man cannot change the way he is, the way he is born to be, alright? Just...be realistic. Promise?"

Minerva nodded. "I promise."

When she exited the nurse's office, Cicely wanted to know how it went, but Minerva did not feel much like talking. Finally Cicely said that she had to go because she had "much to do," and Minerva was left alone with her thoughts. She was worried about whether Albus really loved her, and whether she would ever have children, and whether he would want her if it turned out she could not have children. She was feeling depressed and confused and more than anything else, overwhelmingly exhausted. But she did not wish to return to her room. Instead she made her way up to the highest tower, the astronomy tower, where she could sit on the ledge and be all alone and think.

Meanwhile, Albus was also doing a lot of thinking.

He had just received an owl from Dippet asking him to meet an hour earlier than originally planned. It wasn't the time change that disturbed him, it was Armando's note.

_Albus,_

_Would you mind meeting me here (in my office) an hour early? We have much to discuss, including the conference. I also have a few unrelated concerns that I feel we should go over together. Perhaps we can have a light brunch as well?_

_Armando_

Albus was, of course, concerned about the 'unrelated concerns' of Dippet.

He was also concerned that Minerva had not yet returned from Madam Pomfrey's office.

Forty-five minutes later, it was time to go to Dippet's office, and Albus was still worried about Minerva. He had sent Fawkes to her with a note asking if she was alright, and he had yet to hear back. With a sigh, he made his way to the door of his chambers and opened it to see Minerva standing in the hall, about to enter.

"Oh, hello," said she, as he exclaimed, "Minerva! I was worried about you."

"We need to talk, I think, Albus," she said, and in that moment he forgot all about the meeting with Armando.

"Of course, come on in."

They sat in chairs across from each other, the same chairs they often settled themselves into when playing chess.

"Go on," he said, and she nodded.

"I spoke to Madam Pomfrey. I got the potion. But she said...she said I may not even need it. She..." Minerva felt tears forming in the corners of her green eyes. She decided to save that conversation for later.

"She said that you have been a bachelor always, Albus."

He agreed. "Yes, that is the truth."

"She said that I should not be quick to fall in love, that I am not the first girl to be in love with you, and I am no more special than...And you won't ever settle, probably, so I should be realistic..."

Albus shook his head. He looked very sad, but also rather angry.

"Minerva, there is something I would rather not say, but must tell you, about Prudence Pomfrey. She... She is a clever woman, a wonderful mediwitch. She could have been a healer, if not for her gender seemingly holding her back. And she is a caring woman, she wants what is best for you..."

"All of that I know."

He scratched his beard thoughtfully. She was not sure that he even realized she had spoken.

"I used to date Prudence Pomfrey, Minerva."

Minerva nearly fell out of her chair.

"This was many years ago. She was Prudence Bones then. We were teenagers, it was while we were attending Hogwarts, and for a couple of years afterwards. But she wanted to get married and I...I was not ready. I did not want to lose her, but I did not want to take the next step. Right after we stopped seeing each other she began seeing another man and became pregnant."

Minerva's eyes widened. Poppy was not born until her mother was in her mid-thirties, and she had no siblings...or did she?

"He left her and she was devastated. She stayed at a small cottage her parents owned with a widowed aunt until the baby, a boy, was born seven weeks early. He lived for less than two days."

Minerva was surprised to feel a tear drip from her face and land on her forearm. She hadn't realized she was crying.

"She got the job at Hogwarts shortly after, and Heckle took an immediate interest in her, and he courted her for three years before she finally agreed to date him. They married a year later, and she had trouble conceiving again. Poppy was born almost exactly ten years after they wed, and the rest you know." He paused a long while, and Minerva realized there were tears in his eyes too. "She blamed me, I think, so a long time. Maybe she still does. I think she feels that if I had just married her, or if we had never dated, she wouldn't have run straight into the arms of the man who ended up leaving her, she might not have lost her only son, she might have...I don't know."

"That is all so sad," said Minerva meekly. She tried to imagine Prudence Pomfrey like her friend Poppy, young, happy, full of life and then nearly destroyed by the loss of her son...It was difficult to envision.

"Are you angry that I never told you this before, Minerva?" He asked gently, but she shook her head.

"You never had any reason to tell me. It probably isn't even my business...But I am glad that I know, I suppose. I...I need some time to think, Albus. I'm going to go back up to the astronomy tower. It's so beautiful up there, so clear. I will see you at dinner, I... I have to think." Still stunned, she stood slowly and made her way to the door. Albus stopped her just before she reached it.

"I do love you, Minerva. I hope you believe that. I really do."

She smiled shyly. "I do love you too, Albus." He kissed her briefly on the lips. "But I still need to go," she said. "And think for awhile. So much has happened, so much has changed and everything seems to be going about so fast, and yet..."

He knew what she was trying to say, so he assured her: "I understand."

Again she turned towards the door to leave. She was about to open it when there was a sharp knocking coming from the other side.

"Albus!" she heard Headmaster Dippet call out. Her eyes grew wide.

"My meeting with Armando!" Albus exclaimed. "I forgot."

The door began to open and Minerva panicked, not wanting him to see her there. She closed her eyes and felt a tingling in her arms and legs.

Armando entered and Albus greeted him.

"I am so sorry that I lost track of time, Armando," Albus apologized, picking something up from the floor.

"Understood, you are busy. Who were you talking to?"

Albus gestured to the 'thing' in his arms. "My cat. Tabby, say hello to Armando."

"Meow,"answered Minerva.

* * *

A/N 

Okay, here is where I can apolgize for this chapter. It's weird and different and not too fluffy. But I didn't want to end the story, and I didn't want fluff chapter afte fluff chapter or anything like that, so I decided to give them a little bump in the road. And feel free to let me know what you want to see in the future for our favorite couple!

Meow!

Please remember to review! Thanks!

AL


	19. The Cat Will Mew

**Chapter 19: Meetings**

**"The cat will mew, and dog will have his day."**

**--Hamlet**

* * *

"I didn't know you had a cat," said Armando, studying the small tabby.

"She's, er, rather new," Albus explained. He carried the kitty to his desk and sat down opposite Armando. "Well, you wanted to see me?" asked Albus.

"Yes. First of all is the conference. I trust you will be there to represent Hogwarts?"

"Of course."

Armando nodded. "Good, good. Now, the other…thing…the issue is… Miss McGonagall."

Albus was instantly on edge. "What about her?" he questioned, trying not to sound overtly defensive or protective.

"She is making progress, is she not?"

Albus let out a small breath. "Yes, she is. She is doing very well. I am proud of her."

Armando smiled, but he was obviously holding something back. "And she is recovering nicely?"

"Yes, she is."

Armando nodded again. "In that case, Albus, I feel it is time for her o move again."

"Move?"

"Back to her old chambers. She is a…vibrant, and seemingly healthy young woman, and to have her living here, with you…"

"She has her own room, Armando," said Albus stiffly, wondering how Armando learned of their living arrangements.

"Yes, I understand, Albus. But to see her coming in and out of your chambers at all hours… The students may notice, and they might talk. Hogwarts has a reputation to uphold, as you know. It could be…scandalous."

"I would prefer that she stay here, Armando. She is planning to apply for the Charms position that will be open when Frederick Normington leaves. If she is hired, then she can move to the proper chambers, and if not, she will move back home, but in the mean time, I see no reason to uproot her."

Minerva was glad that he was fighting to keep her around, but at the same time she was fighting her own battle. As this was her first full transformation, she was not able to hold it long. The tingling in her body let her know that she was soon to revert to human form. She crawled off of Albus' lap and hid away under his desk. Any second she would look human again.

"Albus, please. There is no reason to get defensive about all this. It's just that…people have started to talk. The staff, mostly, but soon enough the students will too. And then the parents, and then the Governors. We can't have that, Albus."

"If you are so insistent, Armando, I will speak to her this evening. But I worry about leaving her alone. She has nightmares, still, sometimes." THUMP.

Suddenly a loud bang was heard from beneath the desk. Albus peered under to see that Minerva had indeed transformed back, and consequently had hit her head on the bottom of his desk drawer.

"What on earth was that?" the Headmaster exclaimed, and Albus shrugged. "Just Tabby, frolicking around."

Armando was flustered. "Ah, yes, indeed. Your cat. Well, Albus, I am glad we had this little chat… There, er, isn't anything else you'd like to say to me, is there?"

"Like what, Armando?"

The Headmaster was visibly uncomfortable. "Your…relationship…with Miss McGonagall. It is…professional, is it not?"

"Believe me, Armando," said Albus sincerely, "When I work with Minerva we are completely and entirely professional." Albus followed Armando to the door and bid him good afternoon. He told Minerva it was safe to come out, and she did.

"Albus, you lied to him so very well!" She exclaimed. "It's a tad scary."

"Oh, but Minerva, I did not lie," Albus countered. "When we work together, we ARE entirely professional." He gathered her in his arms and smiled. "When we're not working, however..." He kissed her briefly on the lips and she laughed.

"You're terrible!" she said. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go for a walk. I have an awful lot to think about."

"About moving?"

"About moving, about Madam Pomfrey, about my future, about…" She did not want to say, "about my possible infertility," but it was definetly something to mull over. "About everything," she finished.

"Will you be back for dinner?" He asked.

"Of course. Oh, and just so long as you know, in case Armando asks, I do not plan to sleep in my own bed tonight."

Albus was confused. "Where do you plan to sleep?"

She grinned wickedly. "In yours."

* * *

Albus decided to grade some papers while he awaited Minerva's return. She ventured back up to the astronomy tower, the best place at Hogwarts if you need to think during the day, or snog away the night.

But when she got up there, she saw that she was not alone.

There was a pudgy girl with frazzled reddish-brown hair sitting in the window, with her legs dangling over the edge. It looked damn dangerous to Minerva, but who was she to judge? Minerva did not want to speak, or make noise, as she was afraid to startle the girl.

It took a moment to realize that the girl was talking (to herself?) and despite her better judgment, she crept forward to hear.

"It's not like it, sniff, matters," the girl mumbled. She was crying. "No one would even notice. Except the caretaker, he'd have to clean up. Or maybe Hagrid, he does the grounds. And I would land outside, after all. Poor, sniff, Hagrid. Poor, sniff, Myrtle. Does anyone even miss Myrtle? Maybe, because she was killed and all. But who would, sniff, miss me? It's not so far down. It might even be a nice way to go, at the end, flying like a bird, and to die on the impact and not even know it happened. I could just lean a little."

Minerva's eyes widened. This girl was thinking about killing herself! What should she d? She was still afraid to call out, to startle the girl, causing her to fall, and she didn't want to just reach out and touch her for the same reason.

Suddenly, Minerva had no more time to consider her modus operandi, for the girl had pitched forward and was out of sight! Minerva, thinking quickly, ran to the window, pointed her wand and screamed the first spell that came to mind: "Accio girl!"

And it worked.

The girl came right back up through the window and landed with a hard thump on the concrete floor.

"Ouch!" The girl said, and then she burst into tears.

"Are you okay?" asked Minerva, helping the girl to sit up.

"I didn't mean to fall out! You…you saved my life!" The girl threw her arms around Minerva and sobbed.

"I…I was thinking, just that's all…and I leaned, but I didn't mean to go that far!" She explained through her tears.

"It's alright," said Minerva, as she tried to sooth the girl. "What's your name?" Minerva asked the pudgy girl, who was wiping away her tears with her dirty sleeve, causing smudges to appear on her cheeks.

"I'm Pomona. Pomona Sprout."

* * *

A/N

I hope you liked my update; you sure had to wait long enough for it! lol. I've been writing ADMM like crazy over the last month, but I haven't been good to this fic. I'm sorry.

I want to know what people would like to see next, so let me know. I'm going the way of the ADMM board's interactive fic in that I'd like to know if you want to see A) Minerva moves into her own room and throws a little sleepover party with Cicely, Rolanda, Poppy and Pomona, or B) Albus and Minerva are go to the conference, but one day into it her mother calls upon her suddenly and she really has to go home instead.

:-)

Thanks!

Amandah Leigh


	20. If This Be Magic

**Chapter Twenty: You Gotta Have Friends**

**If this be magic, let it be an art.**

**--The Winter's Tale**

"What's your name?" Pomona asked as Minerva helped her to her feet.

"I'm Minerva McGonagall," said the raven-haired witch, watching the young girl closely. She looked slightly familiar; Minerva had probably seen her Sorting not all that long ago.

"Are you a student here still? I thought you were older," said Pomona Sprout, and Minerva smiled.

"Actually, I'm not a student anymore, not really. I finished last June, but I cam back because Al—Professor Dumbledore is training me to become an Animagus," Minerva hoped that the girl hadn't noticed her slight slip of the tongue, but when the girl spoke again she felt confident that all was well.

"An Animagus! Oh, I'm so jealous! My grandfather was a Seal. Not the most useful animal, but very cool!" Pomona was definitely more chipper now than she had been a moment before. Minerva noticed that the girl was actually really cute when she smiled, in a 'this is my dorky kid sister' kind of way. "I don't really remember him that well," Pomona continued, "Because he died when I was five, but I do remember him turning into that seal at will! What are you, do you know yet?"

Minerva could not help but grin too; the girl's smile was infectious. Quickly she conjured up a little sofa and sat down, Pomona beside her. "I actually succeeded in fully transforming for the first time today. I'm a cat."

"Show me, oh, please!" Exclaimed Pomona Sprout, and Minerva chuckled. "Sure!"

She became a gray tabby cat, and Pomona squealed with delight.

"You're beautiful," Pomona told Minerva once she transformed back.

"Thanks!"

Minerva could not believe how easy the girl was to talk to. An hour later she knew that: A) Pomona Sprout was a Hufflepuff. B) She was an only child C) Both of her parents had died when she was nine, leaving her to be raised by a horrible cousin for two years before she was sent to Hogwarts.

Minerva then told the girl about her family, her overbearing sisters and her less-than-proud mother, her wonderful but unfortunately deceased father and all of the many children who were always underfoot.

Pomona admitted that she was feeling depressed because she was lonely. "It's been six years since my parents died; they were killed by Grindelwald himself. And my mother's cousin only took me in so that she could have a hand in the inheritance. I'm only good at one class, and that's Herbology, and Transfiguration and Charms are my worst. I would love to be an Animagus one day, like my grandfather, but…"

"What about your friends?" asked Minerva, who immediately felt, upon seeing Pomona's reaction, that she had said the wrong thing.

"I don't really have any. I mean, I keep to myself I guess. I'm kind of shy. And when I first started, everyone was like, 'Were your parents really murdered? Did you really witness the whole thing?' And I got sick of that and told them all to bug off, and nobody really wanted to talk to me after that, and now I'm a fourth year and people still don't really talk to me."

Minerva now felt even more sorry for this girl than she had before, but all she said was, "My goodness, that's horrible. Tell you what? I'll introduce you to _my_ friends! Skipper already left school, but Cicely and Poppy are seventh-years, and I bet they'll really like you! I know it won't be quite as good as having friends your own age, or in your own house, but they're really nice."

Pomona's tearful eyes widened. "Do you think so?" she asked hopefully. "You think they'll like me?"

"Sure!" said Minerva confidently. "They like me, and I like you, and so they'll like you too! Skipper is fun, she's a professional Quiddich player."

Somehow, Pomona's eyes grew even wider at this. "Wait, she went here last year? Is her real name Rolanda?"

Minerva grinned. "Yup! Rolanda Hooch. But we've always called her Skipper."

"Wow!"

The two girls laughed. They chatted on for another hour, just like old friends.

It was one of the best days of Pomona Sprout's life.

And Minerva's too.

It was mid-afternoon when hunger finally got the better of them, as neither had eaten breakfast, and together they snuck down to the kitchens for some sandwiches. Minerva showed Pomona how to tickle the pear in just the right spot, and fleetingly she wondered whether Poppy would be upset about her having let someone new in on the secret, but decided she didn't care; she was having fun. And more than that, she was relating. For some reason she really felt like she could talk to this fourteen year old Hufflepuff, and that made her happy.

The girls were in the middle of lunch when Professor Dumbledore entered the kitchens. "Minerva, dear, where have you been?" he asked, not immediately seeing Miss Sprout.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore!" she exclaimed, jumping up. After all, it was one thing for her three best friends to be in on the secret, and quite another for a fourth year to know things she should not. "I know that students are not supposed to frequent the kitchens, but Pomona Sprout and I missed both breakfast and lunch and I thought we ought to eat something."

Albus' eyes twinkled. "Ah, of course, Miss McGonagall. And how are you this afternoon, Miss Sprout?"

Pomona smiled. "Fine sir. Minerva is going to tutor me in Charms and Transfiguration!"

Pomona, Albus mentally noted, looked considerably more content at that moment than he could recall seeing her before. He grinned. "I think that is a great idea, ladies! Now, if you would excuse me, I was just stopping in to grab a cup of cocoa, but I'm afraid I just remembered something I have to do, so I will bid you good afternoon."

He nodded at them and exited to the sound of their cheery goodbyes.

"Wow," whispered Pomona after Albus had gone. "If only he was about seventeen, I would be rather smitten with him." Instantly her face went as red as Minerva's often did. "Gosh!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe I just said that out loud!"

Minerva giggled. "Don't worry. I find him incredibly attractive too, and I don't care that he's not seventeen!"

The girls laughed, and when Minerva caught her breath she asked, "If I were to have a sleepover party, would you come?"

Pomona's eyes grew very wide. "I've never been invited to a sleepover before! But when? We're not allowed to be out of the dorms after dark."

"My friend Poppy could help you sneak out," Minerva assured her. "Her Mum is Nurse Pomfrey and her Dad teaches Arithmancy. She's pretty much grown up here and she knows the castle better than just about anyone, except maybe Headmaster Dippet or Albus Dumbledore himself."

"Oh, wow!" said Pomona, jumping up from her chair. "This is the best day of my whole life!"

1212121212121212121212

After they were done eating Minerva said goodbye to Pomona and promised to introduce the girl to Cicely and Poppy at dinner. Then she made her way back up to Albus' rooms, walking quickly and with purpose. Even though she had not had the opportunity to wallow in sadness, ponder her future or even experience much confusion about the matters of the day and the night before, she suddenly saw everything so clearly. Here she had met a girl so deprived of love that she had felt like ending her own life, and just meeting had done them both a world of good. Minerva realized that she didn't care about possible infertility or Dippet's suspicions or any of Albus' previous relationships. The important thing was that she had found someone to love, someone who loved her too, someone she could talk to and laugh with and yes, have a physical relationship with. And more than that, she had friends, sisters, nieces, nephews and a mother, all of whom cared about her very deeply.

She reached Albus' room and knocked on the door. He opened it, surprised to see her there (and surprised because she knocked).

"Are you alone?" She asked breathlessly, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes…"

Laughing she threw her arms around his neck. "Good."

He pulled her into the room and magically locked the door.

"You want to talk?" He questioned, a bewildered smile on his face.

She grinned back evilly. "Talk? Maybe after."

That was when she kissed him.

And this time you don't need the details.

1212121212121212121212

That night at dinner, Minerva introduced Poppy and Cicely to Pomona, as promised. Thankfully, Pomona and Poppy hit it off straight away, and even Cicely seemed to have a soft spot for the isolated girl. Pomona decided that night when writing in her Private Journal, that her earlier assessment had been correct. It certainly was the Best Day of her life.

1212121212121212121212

Albus hated to leave Minerva alone for an entire week, but she was determined to have her sleepover and was adamant that it would be far less awkward if he was not there (that he agreed with) so they made a deal: He would go along without her on Friday night and she would have her party. Rolanda would stay the rest of the weekend, and on Monday Minerva would inform Armando that she was needed at home. Albus would portkey back to Hogwarts just long enough to pick her up, and she would accompany him at the convention for the rest of the week. It was a perfect plan. What could go wrong?

1212121212121212121212

Friday night Albus kissed Minerva no less than thirty-six times before finally leaving for the convention. She spent the next hour setting up decorations and setting out food and drink. She had sandwiches, ginger newts, chocolate frogs, talking toffees, and various little cakes and goodies prepared by the Hogwarts' house elves at her request. She had punch and tea, and Rolanda was bringing the Butterbeer and "a surprise or two."

Poppy, of course, arrived first.

"Hello, Minerva!" She cheerfully greeted her best friend. They chatted over a copy of Top Brooms for about ten minutes before Pomona arrived, and the three of them engaged in a game of Exploding Snap until Cicely and Rolanda were also present. Minerva introduced Pomona to Skipper, and then the real fun began.

A/N Okay, so the party has only just started, but this chapter was getting a little long (lolol) So I thought that I would go ahead and post what I have thus far, since you've all been waiting over a month for me to update! My last exam is tomorrow, so I hope to post the rest of the party asap! Thanks for all of your support, and if you're bored waiting for the next installment of my little fic, I have two one-shots, Harry Potter and the Dream of Something More and Curious Bedfellows, both that I like very much, even though they're not ADMM so feel free to check them out!

And don't forget to review! I'm taking any ideas/suggestions/whatev. for chapter 21! Thanks!


	21. Let Us Assay Our plot

**Chapter 21: Truth or Dare**

"**Why then tonight let us assay our plot…"**

**-All's Well That Ends Well**

* * *

For about an hour the girls just chatted and ate, giggled and drank. The five of them were getting on as if they'd been friends since childhood, which pleased Minerva almost as much as it did Pomona. 

It was Rolanda, unsurprisingly, who suggested that they play, "Truth or Dare," a game she had taught them two years earlier and boasted that she invented, though Minerva suspected otherwise. It took a great deal of convincing, but all the girls agreed to participate in the game, and Skipper started.

"Okay, Pomona, since you're the new girl, Truth or Dare?"

Pomona fidgeting and took a deep breath, and after a moment she said, "Truth. No! Dare. Yeah, Dare…No, wait, Truth. Truth. Okay I want Truth."

Rolanda giggled. "Okay…um…Let's start out easy. What's the best, more scandalous, most _juiciest_ rumour you've ever heard?"

"Most juiciest?" asked Minerva, but she was ignored.

"You mean here at school?" Pomona inquired, and the Quiddich player nodded vigorously.

"Well… Last year Regan-Elyse Archibald said that she saw Professor Merrythought and Headmaster Dippet kissing just outside this weird room that, er, only appears there if you need it. She said that he exited first and looked around and but she had on her brother's Invisibility Cloak so he looked right through her, then Professor Merrythought turned up out of nowhere and they were snogging each other half senseless."

"Eww!" squealed Poppy as she and Rolanda collapsed in a fit of giggles. Minerva turned a particularly attractive shade of pink and Cicely grinned wickedly.

"No it's not only the Deputy who's getting some action here at Hogwarts," she said coyly and Pomona raised her eyebrows. "I think Regan-Elyse was probably lying. I've never seen this room she was talking about, and anyway, she loves being the center of attention."

"Still," Cicely said, her smile broad and genuine, "Rumours almost always have some basis in truth."

"Okay, Pomona, you ask someone!" Rolanda demanded, and Pomona saluted her. "Yes Ma'am! Okay, Minerva, Truth or Dare?"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I knew that you would ask me! Okay. Truth."

"Bor-ring!" Complained Poppy, but Cicely shushed her.

"Okay… Have you ever…have you ever had a boyfriend?"

With this, Cicely, Poppy and Rolanda simultaneously burst out into hysterical laughter.

"Actually, I do currently have a… a boyfriend," Minerva answered, trying her best to remain composed and mature.

But Pomona was now incredibly curious. "You do? Did he go here?" She glanced at Rolanda. "Is he a Quiddich player?"

"So, Cicely, Truth or Dare?" was Minerva's response and her friends laughed even harder.

"Tell her, Minerva!" demanded Cicely. "Then she can re-answer her juicy rumour question!"

Minerva rolled her eyes and sipped her drink. "We're playing Truth or Dare," she said a moment later, "Not Truth, Dare and Lengthy Explanations."

Poppy laughed, Cicely sighed, Rolanda shook her head and Pomona appeared confused. Minerva continued,

"Truth or Dare, Cicely!"

Grinning wickedly, Cicely responded with "Dare!" and all of the girls giggled.

"Okay!" Minerva exclaimed. "Now we can have some real fun… Cicely Sinistra, I dare you to… er…"

"Make her strip down to her unmentionables and fly around the tower!" Suggested Rolanda.

Poppy disagreed. "She's done that once before, and we didn't even have to dare her, remember Skipper?"

"Oh yeah…" Pensive, Rolanda ran her fingers through her shoulder-length hair and thought a moment.

Slowly a Cheshire Cat smile spread across the pale face of Minerva McGonagall. "I want you to slip into Gryffindor common room and hit the first person you see with a jelly legs jinx! And if there's no one in the common room, slip up to one of the dorms, I don't care which, and get someone there."

"In our own common room?" Cicely exclaimed.

"No, no way!" said Poppy, vigorously shaking her head so her bouncy girls flew about in every direction.

Minerva was confused. "Why on earth not?"

"Make her do it to someone else… The Slytherins, or Ravenclaws!"

"Or the Hufflepuffs," Pomona supplied, her face darkening.

"Are they very mean to you?" asked Poppy kindly. The future medi-witch was an extremely compassionate person, and simply hated to see other people sad, hurt or upset because of the cruel and malicious things they say and do.

Pomona shrugged, but they could all see the tears welling up in her eyes. Minerva was about to move over to her, to comfort her, when Skipper through her arms around Pomona's shoulders.

"Who's the worst one, kid?" Rolanda asked, adding "There's always a worst one."

"There's this one girl… I suppose she's the worst. She's always sayings things like 'out, Sprout,' when I enter a room, and if I mess something in class she's always the first to laugh, and sometimes she'll take my things and hide them so I have to search to find them… I really hate it when she does that… and she's so pretty, and funny, and all the other girls laugh and all the boys tell her how very pretty she is and no one cares that she's the meanest female to ever walk the earth, magic or non-magic folk alike… I would certainly not mind seeing a jelly-legs curse turned on her!"

"Then Hufflepuff it is!" Cicely announced as she stood, wand at the ready. Let's go! Who's going to come and watch and make sure I really do it. Minerva should, since it's her dare. Pomona can come too, I guess, but too many people and we'll get caught."

Poppy and Rolanda did not look happy about this, but they accepted that Cicely was indeed correct in her assessment.

So Minerva, Cicely and Pomona slipped out of the chambers unnoticed, and they made it all the way to the Hufflepuff common room without incident.

"What's this wench's name?" Cicely whispered to Pomona once they were inside.

"Gita. And this is her room, here. She's in the first bed on the left…"

The three crept into the room silent as Unspeakables. "Her, there?" asked Minerva, pointing at the beautiful sleeping silhouette that was Gita Lorraine Mason-Lee. Even in the dorm Minerva could make out the fourteen year olds flawless skin, her long, wavy dark-red hair, and her already forming figure. Minerva raised an eyebrow. "That's Gita?"

"Whoa," whispered Cicely. "That kid is gorgeous!"

Pomona "Yeah…"

"Hey, wait!" Cicely whispered. "We have a problem."

"What's that?" whispered Minerva.

"If she wakes up all jelly-legged, and Pomona is missing, everyone will think she did it. I say we do something else…" and without further explanation, Cicely pointed her wand at the sleeping girl and said, quietly but clearly, "Facialitis Morpheus."

Minerva's eyes widened and Pomona was confused. "What's 'facial—"

"Hush!" commanded Cicely. "Let us be off."

Shortly afterwards the girls were back in Minerva's room, where they found Rolanda and Poppy drinking Butterbeer and reading magazines.

"How'd it go?" asked Rolanda when the others returned, and Minerva laughed, so much so that she had difficulty replying. "You would not believe… Oh, Skipper! Oh my Merlin…"

"I didn't understand what spell that was," said Pomona simply and Cicely snickered.

"All I can say is, Little Miss Gita will not be so beautiful in the morning. Maybe we should visit your Mum in the AM, Poppers? Could be interesting!"

"You didn't hit her with the jelly legs?" asked Poppy, and the girls shook their heads.

"A facial morph!" Explained Minerva finally. Very powerful Dark Magic. The best bit is, they'll probably think Pomona did it, but none of the professors will believe that a fourteen year old girl, regardless of her certain talents, could pull it off. So they will fear her enough to keep their proper distance and quit their torture, and the professors will be none the wiser! Oh, it was ingenious, Cicely!"

Pomona grinned. "Thanks, Cicely! You all are the best mates a girl could have!"

Cicely smiled. "All right now, ladies. This Truth or Dare stuff is getting dull. What do you say we drink a little butterbeer and talk about the ever revolving door behind which hide all of the men in our lives, eh?"

"Oh, that's just like you, Cicely!" scolded Rolanda.

But she opened up a butterbeer and was the first to start the chatter.

* * *

Three hours later they had learned all about A) Rolanda's boyfriend, the Quiddich player, B) Cicely's boyfriend, and the two other boys that she's more-or-less seeing behind his back, C) The cute Ravenclaw boy in Pomona's class who sometimes talks to her about plants, D) The young Irish wizard who works at Zonko's and often catches Poppy's eye, and E) Minerva's mystery boyfriend. 

"You really won't say who he is?" asked Pomona, though it sounded more like "Shoo weally won't shay 'oo 'e ish?" (After the butterbeer was gone, Rolanda broke out the whiskey, wine and gillywater… Pomona was not drinking the gillywater).

"Well, that's alright then!" said Poppy, who was also a little tipsy. "I'll say! His name is…" She looked to Minerva, who simply shrugged.

"Go on," Minerva encouraged her. "I just decided I don't care. I am loved in… I am in love, and I no care who knows about it." (Actually, no one was drinking the gillywater).

Cicely grinned and downed the rest of the whiskey, much to Rolanda's dismay. "But does Albus Dumbledore want everyone to know about it?"

Pomona shrieked. "Albush Dumbledore? Ish that 'oo… Wow!"

Minerva simply smiled and sipped her wine.

* * *

Another hour went by, and another, and soon the girls were tired. They fell asleep haphazardly around the room. Minerva curled up on a chair, Rolanda stretched comfortably on the couch, Poppy on the floor with her cloak bunched up like a pillow beneath her, Cicely also on the floor with her head resting on Poppy's stomach, and Pomona sitting up, leaning against the couch. 

When they awoke in the morning, it was to grogginess and headaches (and a wicked hangover for poor Pomona, who had never before consumed hard liquor), but though they were tired, sore and slightly nauseous, they were able to concur that a good time had been had by all…

The only thing that would have made the night better would be if they had seen the face of Gita Mason-Lee in the morning.

Because it was not a pretty picture.

* * *

A/N 

Okay, wow. It only took me like three months to update, and I am sure this chapter will be disappointing because it's all about the party, but fear not! She will be staying the weekend at Hogwarts (and you don't really need to 'see' much of that) then she will be joining Albus at the convention, and we can have a little more…fun.

Sorry it has taken me so long to do this update. I hope you all have not lost faith in me! I wish I had some great excuse, but the truth is, I don't. Unless you count the fact that I used to do most of my writing at work and now this is a Forbidden Website (sigh). But the real reason I have not been writing is just because I'm busy (there's a shock… lol, it's always the same excuse with me!) Between full time school, my three jobs, all the shows I've been doing, and spending time with my new boyfriend (woo-hoo! lol) I just haven't had time… but I promise… PROMISE… to do better. Honest! I'm already working on Chapter 22! But feel free and post a review telling me exactly what you'd like to see, because I love suggestions! Thanks to everyone who is still reading and reviewing my story! … AL


	22. My Love Thou Are

**Chapter 22: Reunited After Hiatus **

"**My love thou are, my love I think…" **

**-A Midsummer Night's Dream**

After departing Minerva's chambers post sleepover party, each of the girls went back to her room (except, of course, Rolanda Hooch, who had promised to stay the weekend with Minerva). Each girl slept off her hangover, and Saturday night they shared dinner in the dining hall (Gita was noticeably absent from the meal). Sunday was spent separately; Pomona had studying to do in the library, Poppy was being tutored in the art of healing by her mother, Cicely was brooding and writing dark poetry in her private journal, and Minerva and Rolanda decided to take a trip into muggle London to do a bit of shopping (during which Minerva purchased a special little gift for Albus). On Monday the younger girls had classes, though they all followed lunch in the great hall with an hour to laughing and chatting outside by the lake.

It was 7:00 PM and Rolanda was ready to leave Hogwarts, but Albus had not yet arrived.

"Where could he be, Skipper? He's an hour late! He's never an hour late! Sometimes he's five or ten minutes late, but never more than that! Do you suppose he's forgotten? Or something is wrong?" Minerva fretted, pacing about Albus' chambers.

"Calm yourself, Min," advised Rolanda, from her spot on the edge of Albus' desk. "He'll be here soon, he's probably just having trouble sneaking away. How did your chat with Armando go?"

"Oh, it was fine. I assured him that all is well at home, but I regrettably must return for a few days. I might even do so."

"What do you mean? You're not breaking it off with Dumbledore, are you?" Rolanda inquired, confused.

"No, no, nothing like that!" Minerva exclaimed, momentarily forgetting to pace. "It has just occurred to me that should anyone mention my few days at home to my Mum, it will be best if she has some idea as to what that person is talking about. I will talk to Albus about staying with him through the week, then going home for the weekend."

It was at this moment that the flue flared up and Albus arrived by way of fireplace.

"Minerva!" he greeted her with a grin as he stopped into the room.

"Oh, Albus!" cried Minerva, rushing to him. They very nearly embraced, but the moment was interrupted by Rolanda.

"Well then, I'm off! See you all later… My vacation is just about over, and I've to report to Quiddich practice tomorrow morning." She hugged Minerva and shook the hand of Albus, and after saying goodbye she made her way into the fireplace, destination: home.

"My Tabby, are you well? How was your party?" asked Albus, but Minerva shook her head.

"Not now, love. Let us get going… Have you anything to do tonight? I bought… something… And I was hoping to…" Minerva was blushing and Albus grinned.

"No other engagements for tonight, my dear! We shall depart."

They flued to the large inn where Albus and the other conference go-ers were staying. "This is my room," Albus said as they entered.

"Yes," said Minerva, "And this is you bed," she added, crossing to sit on it.

Albus grinned. "That has been a very lonely bed for me thus far."

"Has it been?" Minerva inquired, flirtatious. She reached up to undo the bun in her hair, which allowed the long black waves to flow dramatically past her shoulders, framing her face. "So, Mister Dumbledore, what have we planned for tonight?"

"Well, I have an awful lot to do, so I was thinking perhaps we could grab a quick meal at the bar, then return to the room…"

She smiled. "And then?"

"And then I will work on my speech for tomorrow, and I bought a few magazines that you could peruse at your leisure. After that I thought we could each take a brief shower – you may go first, of course, and then get to sleep as early as possible."

Minerva's lips tightened into a thin line. "You had better be kidding, Albus."

"Why?" he asked, his face the picture of total innocence. "What did you have in mind?"

By this point she could tell that he was kidding, so she stood and made her way slowly over to him. "I was thinking we could start with dinner, like you said. We could order in and light some candles, and turn the lights down. Then, once we're through, I was thinking I could model your gift for you…" She was now standing close enough to grasp his beard in her hand. Gently, she tugged him towards her and pressed her hips against his. Then I could show you just how much I missed you."

He tried to surpress his grin. "How would you show me, Ms. McGonagall?"

"I could start by kissing you. Your face, your lips… your neck…" Rising to her tiptoes she licked the skin below his ear, then paused her explanation for a moment to suck on his earlobe. He held his breath as her teeth grazed his skin there. "I would position you on your back, on the bed, and climb on top of you… I could magically bind your hands and not allow you to touch me at all." She ran her fingers down from her neck, across her chest and further south, stopping when he hand was waist level. "I might even touch myself and let you watch… I might…" Suddenly she giggled. "Gosh!" Minerva exclaimed, her face turning pink. "I cannot believe I just said that!"

Albus laughed. "Minerva!" Grinning, he slid his arm around her waist and hugged her. "I love you."

She smiled shyly in return. "I love you too."

* * *

A/N

I decided tonight to finally update this story. I hope you like it! Thanks for reading… I know it's been a long, long time since the last post (nine months, actually. Wow.) Please remember to review, and leave me ideas for the future! I look forward to putting up the next chapter soon… during which Albus and Minerva will finally get to have some good, fluffy, uninterrupted fun… for at least a little while. :-)

PS: The quote is from one of the Mechanical scenes in A Midsummer Night's Dream, in honor of the fact that I played Robin Starveling (the tailor) in A Picnic Player's (outdoor) production of the show over the summer. It's a great play. You should read it.


	23. Not Bound to Please Thee

**Chapter Fourteen:**

**I am not bound to please thee with my answers**

**-The Merchant of Venice **

Sunday faded into Monday, Monday became Tuesday, Tuesday gave way to Wednesday and suddenly Thursday was upon them.

"Our week is nearly over, Albus," said Minerva when the pair finally tore themselves out of bed a little before noon. "I am happy, though, that you had nothing to do this morning."

"Really, my dear?" he asked, quizzical, as he pulled on his favorite dark blue bathrobe. "Perhaps I am becoming confused in my old age, but I rather thought I did plenty this morning."

Minerva giggled, nearly blushing, as a particularly pleasant image surfaced from her memory and implanted itself in front of her mind's eye.

"And just what are you thinking about, Miss McGonagall?" Albus inquired, kneeling back on the bed, facing her. She brought her self up to her knees and inched closer to him.

"I couldn't help flashing back to this morning. I was standing at the window, watching the sun rise, when suddenly I felt an arm sneaking around my waist…"

"I did not exactly intend for the gesture to come off as surreptitious," he interjected, sliding his arm around her middle and pulling her toward him.

She lowered her chin toward her chest but raised her eyes to his in stereotypical virginal fashion as she leaned her upper body forward. Very innocently she whispered, "I must have mistaken your intention… Care to… enlighten me?"

As if with one mind they moved towards each other, pausing just before contact. Their lips were but an inch apart. She could almost feel him, almost taste him, and though it had been scarcely two hours since their last passionate embrace she hungered for him as if she were an addict forced into rehab and he were her drug of choice.

She pressed her lips so close to his he could feel their movement though she was not yet kissing him. "I want you… I want you to…" Suddenly, Minerva giggled girlishly, breaking the sexual tension. "I just can't do it. I'm sorry, Albus. I'm just not good at, um, being sexy."

He laughed, his blue eyes twinkling even more than usual. "Oh, Minerva! Someday you will understand that everything you do is sexy. Why do you think I want you all the time?"

"You want me all the time?" she asked, trying not to sound too youthful in her excitement.

He grinned and again he pulled her close. "Oh, Minerva." He kissed her then, with gentle force, and she felt herself melting backwards against the bed. She moved her legs so that they were positioned on either side of him. She could feel his excitement growing against her as she untied his bathrobe.

It was another hour before they would again attempt to get out of bed.

A little after three, Minerva kissed Albus goodbye as he headed out for an afternoon meeting. It was their last night away together. The following day he would head back to Hogwarts and she would make her way to her mother's home. They would not be united again until Sunday.

Minerva decided to do some general picking up as she waited for him to return. She had already tried to read and to knit, but she had far too much energy to spend the time sitting down. She wished that she could wander around the town, but they agreed it would no be safe, especially with so many ministry officials in the area. It was too likely that she be spotted, and the couple wished to avoid a scandal, thus no one could know she was there.

It was for this reason that Minerva very nearly had a heart attack at exactly five-oh-four pm.

There was a knock on the door, which she ignored. This was followed by another knock, and another, and then a voice, calling, "Minerva? Minerva, are you there?"

It was not the voice of Albus.

But Minerva recognized the voice on the other sde of the door. It was her mother.

"What do I do?" she whispered frantically to herself. "How did she find me?" She did not wish for her mother to see her there, but on the same token, she could not risk anyone passing by and hearing her mother calling "Minerva!" into Albus' room.

After another two minutes of knocking and the repeated words "I know you're in there," Minerva took a great breath, smoothed her long dress, and answered the door.

"Mum?"

Her mother barreled in, so angry that Minerva mentally considered the possibility that the woman was literally radiating heat.

"Mum. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same damn thing, Minerva," her mother snapped.

"Mum, I…"

"I could also ask you to whom this belongs," she said, holding up one of Albus' shoes as she emphasized, "this."

"It's… mine," Minerva lied stupidly. She felt her face redden. Surely her mother was not an idiot.

"Minerva, I am not an idiot!"

Surely.

"I am sorry, Mum. It's just that, well, I don't want you to be disappointed in me."

"No? Why in hell would I be disappointed, eh? Why would I have had to rush over to this damn place in the middle of the evening? Could it be, oh, I don't know… just because you're shacking up with God-only-knows who? Merlin's beard, child."

Minerva's eyes widened. She had never heard her mother use so many curse words in one breath before (though they we not exactly the strongest of vulgarities).

"Mum, it is not what you think. It's just… he's a friend, that's all."

"You're sharing this room, this room with one bed, and he's just a friend? You lied to the school about where you were going, lied to me, lied to everyone, over 'just a friend?' I do not believe you, Minerva McGonagall."

"Mum, I swear. It's nothing. How did you find me?"

"Prudence said that you might be here. She would not tell me why, perhaps she does not know, which would be ideal as our family does not need such shame upon us. She simply said that she had heard you and Poppy discussing this place. Of course, Poppy refused to tell me anything. She said you were probably in the bath. For two days? Then she claimed that you had gone off to visit Rolanda, but Mariah had someone from the ministry check into that, discreetly, of course, and we knew it to be untrue. Worry not, though, your friend did not give you away, though Prudence has punished her soundly for her cover up."

"She punished Poppy? How?" Minerva felt sick to her stomach. Some of Prudence's punishments were ill fitting of a woman whose professional oath included doing no harm.

"Perhaps you can ask her, if you are ever allowed to leave the house again."

"The… house?" Minerva's knees went shaky. She sat clumsily on the end of the bed.

"You do not think I will allow you to return to Hogwarts, do you? There is far too much freedom there for a girl your age, no longer a student. Obviously Dumbledore is unable to keep control of you. I am told that he is traveling for work related matters this week, thus it was all too simple for you to sneak away. Not that I blame him in the least. After all, it is not his job to babysit a wayward girl."

If only she knew, thought Minerva. Aloud she corrected her mother: "Woman."

"Excuse me?"

"I am a woman. Not a girl. I am an adult,"

"You are behaving like a child."

"Do children 'shack up' with their lovers in hotel rooms?" Minerva inquired, venom in her voice.

Rather than verbally respond, her mother slapped her soundly across the face.

It was in this moment that Albus entered the hotel room. He stood in the doorway for a moment, letting the situation sink in. "Good evening," he said cordially, closing the door behind him. "I see we have a visitor."


	24. Truth is Truth

Author's Note: When I first posted this, I wrote that all chapters were done. I strayed from the original plan for this story, and updates ended up being slower than I had originally intended. Then, life got in the way and I stopped writing fanfiction altogether for awhile. When I started writing this, 7 years ago, I was just starting my sophomore year in college. Now I've graduate, work full time, and am able to look back and see how obviously young my writing was in the earlier chapters - I hope to do better from here on out! I thought about going back and rewriting, but I'm afraid if I do so I'll never get any further along, so just forgive me, please :-) Anyway, I have long since lost all that I had for this story (chapter layouts, info, potential later chapters, plotline, etc) but over the last month or so I have gotten back into reading fanfiction, and have realized that I am incredibly frustrated by all the fabulous unfinished fics I started a long time ago. I also became inspired to write again, but though I have new ideas, I feel I owe it to my readers (if any are still around) and to myself to finish out this story, so here I am - back again! Thanks for still being interested after all this time. If you read this, please let me know what you think - I'd like to hope people still care, and maybe I'll find some new readers too. Anyway, thanks for sticking with it! I heart you all! * AL *

**Chapter Twenty-Four:**

**Truth is truth, To the end of reckoning.**

**- Measure for Measure**

Minerva's breath caught in her throat. Slowly she brought her hand up to her cheek and rubbed the already forming red mark her mother's hand had left.

"Professor Dumbledore," said Minerva's mother. Her voice was icy, matter-of-fact. It made Minerva shiver. "I should have suspected as much. No, no I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have suspected that my daughter would be holed up in some hotel room with the Deputy Headmaster of her school! Why would I have ever suspected that?"

"Mother, please…"

"Quiet, Minerva. Whatever explanation you're cooking up, I don't want to hear it. No, the only explanation I'd like to hear had better come from you, Albus. What the hell were you thinking?

"Gavenia, perhaps we should all sit down and talk about this…"

"I am far too furious to sit, Albus." Gavenia McGonagall closed her eyes for a moment, during which time Albus and Minerva exchanged a worried glance.

"How long, Albus?"

"Excuse me?"

"How long have you been taking advantage of my daughter?"

"He hasn't been taking advantage of me, Mother," Minerva insisted, but her mother held up a hand to silence her.

"I am not speaking with you right now, Minerva. Say another word and I'll revoke your ability to talk at all." Gavenia's wand hand twitched ever so slightly and Minerva clamped her mouth shut in response. As a child, she had often been punished for her impertinent tongue by her mother's favorite curse, a silencing charm that only she could cancel. "Sit, Minerva," said her mother, flicking her wand to conjure up a chair that pushed itself behind Minerva, forcing her knees to bend as she fell into a sitting position.

Albus' eyes flashed. "I understand how furious you must be, Gavenia, but Minerva is an adult, and I care very much for her, thus you are not permitted to threaten her with dark magic in front of me, nor will I permit you to use your wand to move her around like a chess piece."

"Do not presume to tell me what I may and may not do to my own daughter, Dumbledore. If my husband were still alive-"

"If your husband were still alive, I'm sure he'd be as frustrated by your treatment of your youngest child as I am."

Gavenia's eyes widened as she breathed in sharply. "How dare you! If he were still alive, Albus, he would think nothing of knocking you 'round the head upon discovery of this… abomination!"

"Mother," started Minerva, but before she could say another word she had been robbed of her voice in an act of wandless magic. Wandless because, at the same moment, Dumbledore had muttered "Expelliarmus" to disarm the elder McGonagall.

"I don't need to raise a wand to my child to teach her a lesson, _Professor_," snapped Gavenia. "Though I'd appreciate it if you were to return mine."

"Lift it," he said simply, gesturing towards his young lover.

Gavenia said nothing, but a moment later Minerva found that her voice had returned.

"Mother, Mummy, please, calm down. It isn't what you think it is."

Minerva's mother laughed. "Oh really?"

"Actually," said Albus, "I'm sure that it's exactly what you think it is. Minerva and I are staying here together. We are sharing this one bed. And, if you really want to use the words 'shacking up,' I suppose you could say we are doing that as well."

Gavenia recoiled as if struck. "You do not even have the decency to deny it?"

His blue eyes twinkled, just a little. "Why would it be considered decent for me to lie?"

"Just, please, tell me one thing. I have only one question…"

"We love each other, Mum," Minerva interjected, but Gavenia responded by rolling her green eyes up to the ceiling and sighing exasperatedly.

"Of course you think so, Minnie. And I don't care. No, I want to know, how long? How long, Albus?"

"Since shortly after the fall of Grindelwald," he answered, holding out Gavenia's wand. She nodded and took it from his slender fingers. She toyed with it briefly before sliding it back into the pocket of her long, chestnut brown travelling robe.

For a few moments the room was silent. Albus almost smiled when he realized that both mother and daughter were anxiously twisting a strand of long, dark hair around their left index fingers, but he fought the urge. Finally, Minerva's mother spoke again. "When she was a student, then, you didn't…"

"Absolutely not."

"I want you to come home, Minerva," Gavenia began. Minerva opened her mouth to argue, but her mother held up a hand. The gesture silenced her though no curse had been discharged. "That is what I want, but as you so eloquently informed me when I arrived, you are not a child, you are a woman, and as such, you are, technically speaking, free to stay in hotel rooms with men twice your age."

"That's not exactly what I said," refuted Minerva, but a glance from Albus told her that the precise words were not worth arguing over.

"I want you to come home, and forget all about this silly fling. I want you to find a respectable job, meet a respectable man, enter into a respectable marriage, and have a respectable family, as has always been expected of you. But I cannot force you to do so and I'd rather not try. If you would prefer this sort of lifestyle, Minerva, then that it's your choice. But you are making your own bed, here, Minnie, and you will be expected to lie in it. Do not expect me to pick up the pieces after he breaks you, as will surely happen eventually. You'd like to be treated like an adult? Fine. Be an adult. I only need to look in your eyes to know what choice you've made. . Maybe you'll visit for Christmas dinner. Until then, I wish you luck." She started to leave, but when she reached the door she swiveled around to address Albus. "And you? I have known you for longer than I care to remember, and I know all too well what you do to the women you love. I'd like to remind you that my daughter is worth a thousand times more than that, but the truth is, every girl is somebody's daughter, right, and what should make my child any different? I only ask, out of respect for her father, who held you in the highest esteem, that you tread carefully. She's already been through hell. Don't make her go through a world of pain again, or the next time you face me, you'll wish you were merely battling Grindelwald. Understand?" Without waiting for a response from him, she took two steps into the hall and apparated away.

"Well," said Albus in a falsely cheerful voice. "Nice of your mother to drop in."


	25. Love is a Smoke

**Chapter Twenty-Five:**

**"Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs."**

**- Romeo and Juliet. **

"Oh. My. Stars," said Minerva deliberately as she backed towards the bed. She let herself fall onto her back, stared up to the ceiling, and repeated herself. "Oh. My. Stars."

"What strong language, Miss McGonagall," Albus teased, but his blue eyes were void of their usual twinkle.

"That is not how I wanted her to find out about us," Minerva said. She closed her eyes.

"I didn't know that we ever intended for her to find out, no matter how it should happen."

Minerva shook her head, causing a couple of strands of dark hair to fall from her uncharacteristically messy braid. "Of course she was going to find out eventually. I was just hoping… I rather thought… I really wish it had gone just a little better."

He chuckled and eased himself beside her on the bed. "Just a little?"

"I can't believe she let me stay, though."

He smiled in spite of the gravity of the situation. "You are an adult now."

"Still! I can't believe that she didn't drag me out of here by the end of my braid."

Albus' eyes narrowed. "Does she often drag you around by the end of your braid, Minerva?"

"Well, not so much now, because I'm older. But when I was a child, yes, sometimes she did. It doesn't really hurt though. Not like being dragged around by my ear. That hurt."

He nodded. "And the spell she uses to silence you, it's 'Vox Corripius,' is it not?"

"It is."

"That's a powerful curse, Minerva. Not one that we teach at Hogwarts. It's Dark Magic."

"I know, Albus. Believe me. One of my primary goals upon attending Hogwarts was figuring out how to block or cancel that particular spell. When I had to look in the Restricted Section to find it, I realized what it was. I don't know where my mother learned it though, or why. I've always assumed it safer not to ask."

"Dark wizards use it on their enemies so that they can torture them without worrying that anyone will hear them scream. Historically, it has most often been used by men who, uh…" For a moment he seemed to be at a loss for words. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Men who take women by force. It is especially dangerous because only the person who performed it can cancel it. If someone were torturing you, and you performed that spell on him, he wouldn't be able to hurt you anymore, unless he used wordless magic. But if someone used it on you, and he were to, say, be killed while doing so, you would never speak again. The curse could never be lifted. Most spells and enchantments lift when the person who placed them has died. Nearly all, actually. If you stun someone, then no, it doesn't lift upon the caster's death, but anyone can undo it. If you freeze someone in his or her place, however, that person would be able to move as soon as your heart stops beating, understand?"

"Yes," Minerva rolled over to look at him. "But Albus, why are you telling me all of this?"

"Two reasons. One, I want you to realize how wrong it is that your mother uses that spell on you. That's not parenting. I mean no disrespect to your mother, Minerva, honestly, but it must be said. I have known her for many years, and know that she is genuinely a decent person, though she has always been a little on the severe side. But, in this instance, she is very, very wrong."

"And two?"

"Should you ever meet Mr. Riddle again, and should he ever attempt to bother you again, it may not be a terrible idea to use that particular curse on him. I'm sure he's working on wordless magic, but I very much doubt he's mastered it yet. If you do not know how to perform it, I can teach you. Just between us, of course. As I said, it is very Dark Magic."

"Thank you, Professor, but I do not intend to meet up with Tom Riddle ever again."

"Minerva," Albus began. He sighed. "Minerva, we need to talk."

She returned to lying on her back. "That sounds foreboding."

"It is." He sat up and leaned over her. "Look at me, please." He guided her to a seated position across from him on the bed. She could see worry in his eyes, and something more… trepidation, perhaps? Resignation? Something she had never seen. It made her very uncomfortable.

"What is it? Just tell me. What? You're angry because my mother found out about us, is that it?"

"I wanted to talk to you about this before she popped in."

Though Minerva had no way of knowing what he was going to say, she could feel the atmosphere in the room had changed. Her eyes began to tear up but she was determined not to cry, no matter what he decided to say.

"We can't keep on like this."

"Excuse me?" she asked, her voice cracking just a bit.

He averted his eyes, no longer able to look at her and see the love, adoration, and the pain staring back at him.

"It was not fair of me to enter in to this with you, without giving you all of the necessary information."

Her lips drew themselves into a thin line. She stared at him intently for a few moments before responding. "Such as?"

"We cannot… You need to understand why… but we cannot go on. We cannot go any further than we have already… We shall have to…"

"Just tell me, damn it," she snapped, and he raised an eyebrow in response. She was not going to make this easy for him. And why should she?

"It has been a long time since I entered into any sort of even remotely significant relationship with any woman, Minerva. And prior to that, I did not have the best track record. I may have even had a bit of a… reputation."

"Because of Madam Pomfrey?"

"Because of her. And others. I couldn't settle down, even though that it what everyone expected of me. That's part of what drew me to you, Minerva. Your whole life you've heard your mother and sisters telling you what your future should bring, but you are determined to go in another direction. You are headstrong, independent, and eager to experience the world. As was I, at your age. I had big goals and even bigger dreams. I wanted so much out of life, Minerva, and while falling in love always appealed to me, settling down did not."

"I'm not asking you to set-"

"Please, let me continue."

Despite her secret personal promise not to cry, she felt a tear making its way down her cheek. She did not bother to wipe it away. "Very well."

"Then, there came a time when I found someone I cared about very much, a Muggle Studies professor. She and I spent a lot of time together, travelling, attending various functions, and generally just enjoying life. I was never in love with her, Minerva, though maybe it would have turned into that someday, had we gotten the chance…" He coughed as if suddenly uncomfortable with the conversation.

"And what?" Minerva asked bitterly. "She left you? Took off? Met someone new? Broke your heart?"

"She died. She was murdered."

Minerva gasped and looked up again to meet his eyes. "No! Why?"

"Grindelwald was rising to power. He came to me, to ask… I should interject into my own story, Minerva, to mention that Gellert Grindelwald and I were friends for a time, long ago, when we were about your age. The, uh, friendship, it did not end on good terms. But that is a tale for another time. The point is, he had seen pictures of us in the Daily Profit, pictures of her on my arm, and…" Albus paused and breathed in and out very slowly several times before he was able to continue. "It was during the summer holiday. I was staying at my family's home in Godric Hallow, where we had first met. Gellert Grindelwald came to me, to ask one last time if I would join forces with him, as we had spoken about as boys so many years before. I refused, of course, with a few choice words I later regretted because I truly believe that it was my words that pushed him to do what he did. The following evening, I received an owl from a ministry official. My Muggle Studies professor was dead. She had been tortured for several hours before a Killing Curse finally put her out of her misery. 90 minutes later I received a second owl, from my old friend Gellert. 'You let this pathetic slag turn you into a Muggle loving old fool?' he had written. That was all. One line. He signed it with what later became known as his famous mark, his dark insignia. Enclosed was a picture of her, lying on the ground in her flat in London, struggling to hold closed a gash in her neck. Her robes had been shredded, and I later received confirmation from the Ministry that he had… he had violated her. She had suffered, terribly, because of me. She and I, we were hardly more than friends. Friends who enjoyed going to parties and dancing together and the occasional bite to eat at nice restaurants. She died because of that friendship, Minerva. And I haven't seen anyone since, not even casually. Not until you."

"That's awful, Albus. It's so, so tragic," Minerva was openly crying, but she did not care. She moved towards him a little, hoping that he would take her in his arms and reassure her that everything would be alright, but he did not move, he would not touch her.

"It's terrifying, Minerva, that I could cause such pain, and you have already been through so much, I couldn't bare it if anything more happened to you, Minerva. You're so young, so promising, you have so much life ahead of you, so much time."

"But Grindelwald is gone, now, Albus. We are safe."

"We will never truly be safe, Minerva. I will always have enemies. Already you have suffered because of me. What Tom did to you in that forest-"

"No!" she cut him off. "What he did in that forest was about me, Albus, not you. And if it weren't for your intervention, need I remind you, I wouldn't be here today!"

"It's just not safe, Minerva." He looked away with the hope that she would not notice the tears in his eyes. "It's just not safe."

"Tom Riddle is afraid of you, Albus. He won't bother me again."

"Don't be so certain, Minerva." With that, Albus pulled a letter from his pocket. He handed the parchment to Minerva, whose face went white as she read it aloud.

_Dumbledore -_

_She will not be yours forever, remember that. _

_And I do not like to lose what is mine._

_Especially not to 'a muggle loving old fool.'_

_You cannot be everywhere all the time, old man._

_- Lord Voldemort_

"Albus, when…?"

"This afternoon. I don't know how he found out about the letter, but he must have. He used the exact same wording, see, Minerva? It's a threat, and not exactly a thinly veiled one. He is a sick and dangerous young man. And the closer you are to me, the more likely you are to end up suffering. He knows very little about us, and that is absolutely too much."

"What are you saying, Albus?"

"You deserve so much more than me, Minerva. So much more than a secret lover who's more almost three times your age."

"You don't want me anymore?" she asked. He chuckled bitterly in response.

"Want you? Of course I want you."

"Then you do not love me?"

"Minerva!" he reached out to take her hand. "You must believe that I love you. That is why I'm telling you this. That is why this has to end. Of course I love you. I love you so much it frightens me."

Slowly she rubbed small, soothing circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. She shifted closer to him again.

"Then what's the problem, Albus?"

"He could hurt you."

Her green eyes flashed with anger. "He has hurt me already! He hurt me long before you and I had ever shared our first kiss that night in the hallway. He will hurt me again if he gets the chance, whether you and I are involved with each other or not! At least if we are together, Albus, you can protect me. You can teach me to protect myself!"

"There's more to it than that, Minerva."

"Really? And what else is there, oh Noble One?"

He ignored her sarcasm and replied sadly, "I can never marry you, Minerva. We can never make a home together. No one can ever know how I feel about you. You can never have my child."

"I can never have any child, Albus."

Confused, he met her gaze, and felt her grip on his hand get just a little tighter.

"What do you mean, Minerva?"

"Madam Pomfrey told me, after our first night together, that it was unlikely I could ever conceive again, but at the time she couldn't be certain. Last week, one morning when you were teaching, Poppy and I snuck out of the castle-"

"Poppy snuck out during class hours? That's less shocking than it should be."

"And we took an illegal portkey to St. Mungo's. They ran some tests. I can't conceive, Albus, not ever. We made it back to Hogwarts before lunch, and no one even suspected we had been missing."

"Sneaking out of the castle is very dangerous, Minerva," Albus began to chastise her, before reminding himself that, though his lover was still technically _his_ student, she was no longer a _Hogwarts_ student. "Poppy could have been expelled."

"I'm sorry."

He nodded, and finally moved to position himself closer to her. "I'm sorry that you cannot bare children, my Minerva," he said quietly.

"It's alright. Maybe someday I'll return to Hogwarts as a teacher. Then, in a sense, I can have hundreds of children."

"You are incredibly mature for you age," he said, still speaking very quietly. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"You might have said something to that effect… once or twice." Their foreheads were touching.

"I do love you, Minerva. If anything were to happen to you…" He slid his arms around her waist.

"Nothing will happen to me, as long as I'm near you." She ran her hands up his chest.

"We have to keep it a secret. The threat is still very real." He pulled her closer.

"I'd rather be with you in secret than anyone else in public, Albus." She kissed his temple.

"To be honest, I'd rather be with you in secret than anyone else, in any form." He kissed her forehead.

With a small smile, she cupped his cheek and leaned forward.

"I love you, Albus Dumbledore," she said.

He moved even closer, until their lips were nearly touching. She could feel his breath on her mouth when he whispered back, "And I love you, Minerva McGonagall."


	26. The Wise Man Knows Himself

_Author's Note: As many will have read in my note two chapters ago, I started this fic seven years ago, when I was just starting my sophomore year in college. Since then, I have grown as a writer and a person (I hope) but more importantly, the HP canon has grown to include much more information about the past lives of our favorite characters than was available in 2004, before the last two books were released (for example, in Ch. 2 I had Minerva using her invisibility cloak, but now that we know how one-of-a-kind Harry's is, I changed it to a cloak that has been charmed to be invisible). Because of stuff like this I am going back and just making some minor alterations to the first few chapters in order to make them fit better with canon and where the story is now headed. I won't be changing anything major, so please don't feel obligated to go back and re-read, I just want to make the overall flow better for anyone who should be new to the story from this point on. I've replaced the first and second chapters already since yesterday. Thanks for reading, and thanks especially for the reviews! - AL_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six:**

**"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."**

**- As You Like It **

On Thursday, it was time for the two to return to Hogwarts. Minerva had not heard from her mother, though she did not really expect to. She hoped that the six weeks between their uncomfortable hotel room discussion and Christmas would ease the strain. Minerva also hoped that her mother had not mentioned her secret transgression to her older sisters.

Minerva and Albus apparated to Hogsmeade and walked the path back to school together. He held her hand until they reached the grounds of Hogwarts.

"Sorry m'dear," he said, placing a kiss on the back of her hand, "But it's is probably safest if we put a little distance between us until we're in private again. I do not fancy getting discovered twice in one week."

Minerva smiled. "That's fine, Professor."

"And, at some point, we really should discuss the possibility of you moving back into your old room."

Minerva scowled. "That's less fine, Professor."

"I know, Minerva, but you heard Armando. The staff is starting to talk. And if we are going to keep this a secret, a well-kept secret, we cannot give anyone any reason to suspect that anything is going on. Understand?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I understand. I just don't like it."

He sighed. "Neither do I."

"I'm looking forward to my upcoming lessons, though, Sir," she said after a few minutes of silence.

"Minerva, please don't call me sir," he requested with a grimace. "It makes me feel… old."

"Yes, Sir," she replied with a playful smile. In spite of himself, he grinned back.

"I look forward to teaching you. You have progressed so much faster in your Animagus training than I had anticipated, but no one needs to know that. You're here at Hogwarts as my protégée for a year, and we might as well use that time as wisely as we can. I plan to teach you stronger blocking spells, Occlumency, and a few key hexes and charms. I have no doubt you will be a quick learner."

"I wish I had taken Dueling class with Professor Viridian, but my schedule was so full, and as I plan to be an educator I honestly didn't think I'd need to know how to fight."

"Vindictus Viridian is a highly accomplished Dueling Master and teacher, and there is a lot that can be learned from him, though I'm afraid that particular class will be going by the wayside in the next year or two."

"Oh no!" Minerva stopped walking to face Albus, who was stroking his auburn beard with one hand. "Why?"

"Headmaster Dippet is pushing for it to stay, but the Ministry is not comfortable with students learning how to fight. Vindictus has been working on a book for quite some time, and once it is published I think he will be leaving the world of education to continue his new career as an author, and the Ministry has made it clear that they do not intend to replace him. They have suggested a well-regulated Dueling Club be put in place instead, for those students who are truly interested."

"How very unfortunate," Minerva said as they resumed walking.

"Indeed," agreed Albus. "Very."

* * *

The following evening Albus had a staff meeting, so Minerva decided to spend a little time with her friends Cicely and Poppy. She filled them in on the threatening note and her conversation with Albus.

"And that's why we have to keep it a secret," she concluded with a sorrowful sigh. Poppy nodded gravely, worried about the safety of her best friend, but Cicely was grinning.

"I love it!" the sixteen year old exclaimed as she pulled her long black and purple hair into a ponytail. "It's so romantic. A secret relationship, an evil lurking in the shadows, a promise to protect you at all costs. You could write a book about it. I'd certainly buy."

Poppy was clearly horrified. "Cicely! This isn't some work of fiction we're talking about here! This is Minerva's life! She could be in a lot of danger. What if somebody finds out about them?"

Cicely laughed, her dark eyes dancing in the dim light of their dorm. Thankfully the other seventh year girls were down in the common room, playing Exploding Snap with the boys, but just in case Minerva had placed a silencing charm around Poppy's four-poster's curtains. Poppy hugged her pillow to her chest and glanced at Minerva, who could see the worry written all over her best friend's face.

"Oh, don't be daft, Poppy. She's not really in danger. Dumbledore's the best wizard since Merlin! He'll protect her."

"Actually, he's going to help me protect myself." Minerva informed them. She stared down at her lap, tracing the pattern on her ornate red and gold robe, a gift from her father to her mother given before Minerva was born and inherited by her upon her Sorting into Gryffindor.

Cicely leaned forward conspiratorially. "What's he got in mind, eh? A bit of Dark Magic?"

"A bit," Minerva confirmed. "And more advanced blocking spells, and other things."

"He's a genius," said Cicely with a curious smile. "I bet he could teach you some fascinating spells and dangerous hexes."

"I told him the other night that he is the smartest man I know, and he countered that he's only smart enough to know what a fool he actually is. 'The more you know,' he told me, 'the more you realize how little you know.' How can I not love a man who says things like that?"

"It still kind of creeps me out to hear you talk of loving our professor," said Poppy with a small shudder. "I mean, I'm glad you're in love and all of that, but…"

"His vow to protect you is very romantic, but made even more so by his dedication to teaching you to do it yourself," interjected Cicely.

Minerva nodded. "I agree. It's like that old Muggle adage, 'give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.'"

Cicely held back a grin. "So… what kinds of Dark Magic will Dumbledore be teaching you to fish with? Enlighten us."

"Sinistra!" snapped Poppy in a tone that greatly resembled that of her mother when in scolding mode. "Dark Magic isn't a game! It's not even allowed at Hogwarts! Even the Dueling class doesn't get to study it. There's a reason that all we learn is _Defense_ _Against_ the Dark Arts."

"And the logic behind that reasoning has always escaped me," countered Cicely. "How can we defend ourselves against something we aren't able to recognize? If we don't know what we're fighting off, how can we fight it? Oh, Minerva, maybe he'll get you some books from the Restricted Section. There are a couple I've been dying to peruse since third year, but as you both know, our darling Madam Pince kicked me out of there permanently when she discovered me practicing the Imperious Curse on a fly."

"I still can't believe you didn't get into more trouble for that," remarked Poppy, reaching up to touch the bruise on her arm that her mother's hands had left when the medi-witch tried to squeeze the truth of Minerva's whereabouts out of her young daughter.

"Can't you heal those damn finger marks already?" snapped Cicely, clearly annoyed. Poppy glared at her friend.

"Don't you think I would if I could? But I told you, mother charmed them to stick around awhile as a reminder of what happens to girls who lie."

Cicely's eyes flashed dangerously, causing a small nervous tug in the base of Minerva's stomach. "Well, I'm sorry your mum is hard on you, and I'm sorry you think I should have been expelled for simply trying out a bit of advanced magic…"

"It wasn't simply advanced magic, Cicely, it's Unforgivable!"

"It was a fly, for goodness sakes! A bloody fly! And it's not like I was making him hurt himself or anything! Just a fly, damn it! And I think I was sufficiently punished. Never allowed back in the Restricted Section, even with a Professor's permission, not allowed to attend the Halloween party that year, a month's detention with Kettleburn, outside in the cold, dark Forbidden Forest caring for magical creatures that I hate, and a letter home to my mother who promptly sent back a Howler for all the Great Hall to hear during breakfast! Seems like quite enough punishment for one small transgression. Damn it! I'm going for a walk!" Cicely turned around so fast that her ponytail actually smacked Poppy across the face. She pushed her way through the curtains around the bed and stomped off towards the common room.

"I hate it when she gets like that," whispered Poppy, forgetting that the silencing charm meant they would not be heard.

"I'm tired, Poppy," Minerva said softly. "I think I'm going to head to bed."

"It's eight-fifteen, Minerva!" Poppy replied exasperatedly.

"Still." Minerva hugged her friend in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "I'm very tired."

"Fine then," Poppy conceded. "You'd best be getting to bed. Good night, Minerva."

"Good night, Poppers. Oh, and I'm sorry about that bruise."

"Don't be sorry, McGonagall. What are friends for?"

* * *

An hour and a half later, Albus returned from the staff meeting to find Minerva sitting on the couch in his office, reading a book. He smiled when he noticed that her hair was down, as he loved running his fingers through her long, dark locks - and he especially loved the contented sighs that typically followed such an action.

"Any good?" he asked jovially, not bothering to say hello.

"I find it informative thus far," she answered with a small smile. "I borrowed it from your shelves. Hope you don't mind."

He slid in next to her on the couch, and she moved so that her back was leaning against his right side. His thin fingers reached out to turn the book so that he could read the cover.

"Ahh, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection by Quentin Trimble. Interesting choice."

"Well, as long as you are planning to teach me more than the standard curriculum, I figured I'd get started with a little light reading."

"If I may be so bold," he said, his voice low, "I believe I have already taught you several things that are not considered standard curriculum."

She turned her face to look at him. "Oh?" she asked, feigning innocence. "Such as?"

"If you have to ask, my dear Minerva, then perhaps I am not teaching you well enough at all."

"Educate me?" she asked, closing the book and letting it drop to the floor.

"With pleasure." He moved her body so that she was on his lap, straddling him. She leaned forward to kiss him, but before he could deepen the embrace she pulled away.

"You're not the only one who's taught me anything, Professor Dumbledore," she said in what she hoped was a seductive sounding voice. "I've also been reading a Muggle romance novel, and I think I've picked up a thing or two from it."

"Oh?" he inquired as moved her mouth to suck on his neck, just above where it met his shoulder blade.

"I haven't had the opportunity yet, though, to make an attempt at practical experience." She opened his robes and moved her lips down his bare chest.

"Indeed?" He shifted his weight as he could feel his excitement growing.

"Indeed," she whispered, moving her lips to the waistband of his pants. "Muggle trousers again today?" she asked. "Interesting choice."

"Sometimes I find them comfortable," he answered as he felt her undoing the button on his pants. He could feel himself straining against the cloth as he let out a low groan.

"Everything alright?" she asked him as she unzipped his fly.

"Everything… yes…" he answered huskily.

"Excellent," she replied just before taking him into her mouth. He moaned as she began to pleasure him in a way that he had not experienced in several years, and, quite frankly, had nearly forgotten how much he enjoyed. He slid his hand to the back of her head and ran his fingers through her long hair. She was clearly inexperienced in regards to the performance of fellatio, but he did not care in the least. He moaned again as she moved.

"Oh, Min…" he sighed, lost in the sensation. A few moments later, however, he realized that he ought to halt her actions if he wanted to last long enough to complete their coupling. "Come… come up here, Minerva. Look at me," he requested. She slid back up to his waist, again straddling him.

"Yes?" she asked, hoping that he was pleased with her efforts. He did not verbally answer her, but instead he vanished her red and gold robe and slid her skirt up above her waist. She began to unbutton her blouse and he gripped her thighs tightly. He slid his arms around her and gently guided her onto him, and himself inside her. She gasped barely audibly as they became one, and together they moved rhythmically for several minutes, alternating passionate kisses with wandering lips. He took one of her breasts into his mouth and she practically mewed with pleasure. Moments later she captured his mouth with hers as he exploded inside her. Their movements stilled, though he kept his arms wrapped firmly around her waist.

"I love you, Minerva," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too, Albus," she whispered back.

"I'll never let anybody hurt you," he promised, intertwining their fingers and bringing the back of her hand up to his lips.

She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. "I know, Albus. I trust you."

* * *

_A/N - Vindictus Viridian is listed on the HP-Lexicon website as the author of __Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More)__.__The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection__ by Quentin Trimble also comes from the Lexicon. __I try to use Canon-Friendly names and books whenever possible. Insert Smiley-Face Emoticon here. Thanks for reading! - AL_


	27. Suspicion Always Haunts the Guilty Mind

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:**

**"Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind."**

**- King Henry IV Part III **

"Are you ready?" asked Albus, as he stared into Minerva's eyes.

"Yes. No! Wait… no." She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I'm not sure."

"Just try to block your mind, like we've been practicing. It's not so different from what we've done in Animagus training. Don't let anything in or out."

"It's very different, Albus," she argued. "When I'm about to transform, I clear my mind and just do it. With this, I have to clear my mind, and then stop you from entering it. It's very different. And… I don't know if we should do this. I've read that it's very uncomfortable to have someone peering into your head."

He shook his head, feeling his patience wane. "It will be far more uncomfortable if the person peering into your head is an enemy, Minerva."

"Well, yes, that's true," she conceded, "but there's a certain awkwardness even in allowing you access into my mind, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that."

"We've been working on this for two weeks already, Minerva. You know, in theory, what you must do, but if you do not practice actually doing it, there's little point to even knowing what it is. Is there something in particular that you do not wish me to see?"

"No! I mean, I don't think so!" she shifted her weight again. "Not… not anything in particular. No."

"Then, without further ado, let us begin."

With that, he leaned forward in his chair, hands on her biceps, and peered into her worried green eyes. He paused for barely a second before pushing his way into her thoughts, trying not to pry too deep into her subconscious too soon.

He saw her at seven years old, watching in awe as Poppy tickled the pear in the portrait that hid entryway into the kitchen.

He saw her at nine years old, receiving the word that her beloved father had died the night before after being stabbed in a robbery on the streets of Muggle London.

He saw her at twelve years old, sitting between Poppy Pomfrey and Rolanda Hooch on the Hogwarts Express. They were laughing and comparing Chocolate Frog Cards.

He saw her at fourteen years old, trying out for the Gryffindor Quiddich team. He watched as she threw the Quaffle through the center ring.

He saw her a month prior, in her room adjacent to his office, sitting on the floor and drinking from a bottle of Firewhiskey. He saw her hand the bottle to fourth-year Pomona Sprout.

And, just as suddenly as he had invaded her mind, he pulled himself out of it.

"Minerva!" he snapped, and she felt her pulse quicken.

"Um, yes?" she asked.

"Sharing liquor with a student? Not just any student, not just Poppy or even Miss Sinistra, but young, impressionable Miss Sprout? I had no idea that she was going to be a guest at your little get-together."

Minerva stared down at the floor, ashamed. "It was kind of a last minute thing… and I didn't know Rolanda would be bringing alcohol."

"Don't blame this on someone else! It was your gathering, you were in charge!" Albus rose from his chair and removed his spectacles so that he could rub the bridge of his nose. "Do you know what kind of trouble she would be in if anyone found out about that? Or what trouble you would be in? Or, for that matter, what trouble I would be in? Did you even think about that? Do you care?"

She gasped and forced herself to look at him. "Yes, of course I care."

"I am very disappointed in you. I hope you employ better common sense in the future, Miss McGonagall," he said, and she bristled at the use of her formal name.

"Yes, _Professor_," she said with just a twinge of impertinence. He took a few deep breaths before returning to his chair.

"Let's continue then," he said. "This time, I want you to do a better job of blocking me. I was able to peruse your mind at will, and find some of your more vulnerable thoughts. Try to push me away. Try to push back into my own head, if you want. But don't let me see anything else I should not, please."

In spite of the gravity of the situation, she smiled. "Alright. I'm ready."

This time she did a slightly better job. He saw glimpses of memories, but she was increasingly successful at pushing him away, making him retreat.

He saw her on the steps of her primary school, being pushed to the ground by a blond girl with braids. He saw her eyes fill with tears when the other kids laughed. He saw her start to gather her books, and then felt her pushing him out, shutting the memory down. He could hear her thinking, 'No, not this one.' He smiled with pride as he pressed on.

He saw her wandering the halls of Hogwarts with Poppy by her side. She was perhaps eight years old. 'Want to go eavesdrop on the staff meeting?' Poppy whispered. 'Sometimes they talk about…" But what they talk about, he did not get the chance to hear, as she pushed him away for a second time.

He saw her sitting in the Great Hall as Professor Merrythought placed the Sorting Hat on her head. He could both see her swinging her feet, biting her lip, and clenching her fingers as he heard the voice of the Hat. 'Ravenclaw just may be the place for you. You have an intelligence that surpasses that of the other children your age, an understanding of wit that goes beyond your years, a certain depth that is typically unseen in someone so young… but there's more. You are brave, and loyal, and driven to succeed. You are not afraid of anything, except failure. You are determined to never fail. Yes, you would do very well in Ravenclaw, but there's a better place for you… GRYFFINDOR.' Albus wondered why she did not try to remove him from that thought, and quickly realized it was because she liked it. She liked reliving that moment, so why make it end? He had to find something else. He delved deeper into the recesses of her mind.

Her saw her standing behind the greenhouses at Hogwarts. She was a student, in uniform, perhaps sixteen years of age. She was leaning against the wall beside Cicely. Rolanda and Poppy were seated on the ground across from them. The four girls were smoking. Though Albus was unable to smell the substance they were enjoying, he knew immediately that it was forbidden by the distorted way Minerva's memory moved the scene around, and he wondered where they had acquired it. 'Holy Hufflepuff, I think I can taste colors and see smells,' said Cicely from her spot on the ground. She leaned back until she was lying in the dirt. 'I think my brain might explode,' commented Minerva, closing her eyes. 'Where'd you get this, Poppy? Did you really do it yourself?' Poppy pressed her palms to her eyelids. 'What can I say?' she answered. 'My father's the Herbology Professor. I grew up sneaking peaks at all the plant-related reading material he wouldn't let me see.' Rolanda laughed as her body slid from the wall to the ground. 'Lucky for us, eh?' she said. Suddenly Albus felt himself being shoved rather roughly out of her mind, and the next memory he felt himself thrust into was his own.

He was seventeen and sitting beside Grindelwald, holding out a bit of parchment for his friend to see. 'It's the Peverell Brothers' mark,' Albus was saying. 'The sign of the Deathly Hallows.' He closed his eyes and mind and stood up from his chair.

"You did it, Minerva," he said quietly. "You removed me from your head rather successfully, though I must say I saw an awful lot before you managed."

"Are we in trouble, the girls and I?" she asked in small voice, and he fought the urge to laugh.

"How long ago was that?" he asked, facing away from her.

"My sixth year."

He nodded, his back still to her. Her heart was beating rapidly.

"I will keep it to myself, Minerva. Though I would like to ask a couple of questions."

She let forth a sigh of relief, but did not stop wringing her hands worriedly. "Anything."

"Who grew it?"

"Poppy."

"Shocking. Where?"

"Greenhouse Three, when it was closed. Professor Pomfrey was doing an experiment with the seventh years and the greenhouse had to be closed off for two months, so she'd sneak in when he wasn't around. She grew it way in the back. He never found out."

"How very fortunate for her. Had she grown it before?"

"No, that was the first time."

Finally, he turned to look at Minerva. "And how often have you done it?"

"Just the once." Nervously, she bit her lip and tasted blood.

"Was it shared with any other student, to your knowledge?"

She shook her head. "No, Poppy would never risk getting found out. Her parents would kill her."

"Yes," he agreed. "They probably would. And she'd probably deserve it. Growing, and subsequently smoking, illegal plants, is not permitted at Hogwarts, or anywhere else, Minerva. Miss Pomfrey would have been lucky to face only the wrath of her parents. It was a very stupid thing for her to do. For all of you to do. I've always known how found your friend is of bending, breaking, and altogether desecrating the rules of this castle, and the rules set forth by her parents, but I genuinely never suspected that her affinity for misbehavior would extend to the unlawful. But, frankly, I'm most shocked about you. I rather thought you were smarter than that, Minerva."

"Haven't you ever done anything… questionable, Albus?"

He smiled, realizing he was trapped. "Of course, my dear Minerva. Every time I touch you, it's a questionable thing to do."

"But not illegal."

"No… not illegal." He rubbed his temples for a moment before returning his glasses to his face.

"Your mind, sir, did I invade it? I saw something…"

"Yes," he confirmed. "You entered my mind and stole a glimpse at one of my memories, one that I am not particularly proud of."

"Will you explain…?" Minerva asked, her voice trailing off.

"Another time, perhaps, Minerva," was his response. "Another time."

* * *

Two days later, they agreed to try the practical experiment again. It was just after his final class of the afternoon. He entered his chambers to find her knitting, as she had taken to doing more and more, and had even offered to teach him. He kissed her on the temple and said hello.

"I like that color on you," she told him, in reference to the vivid blue robe he wore.

"Thank you," said he as he took the knitting from her hands and moved it to the desk. "You are looking most bewitching yourself this evening." Minerva glanced down at herself. She was without robe, having taken it off when the heat coming from the fireplace had caused her to sweat a little.

"It's just a sweater and a skirt," she said, but he hushed her with a quick peck on the lips.

"Please, Min, if we start discussing your attire I may find myself entirely unfocused on the activity we have planned."

She smiled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear as he settled himself in a chair across from her. His instructions were familiar.

"Keep me at bay. If you can stop me from entering, you do not have to worry about forcing me out. I went easy on you the other night, Minerva. Do you think you're ready for the increased challenge?"

"Absolutely," she assured him, and they began.

She was four years old and on a playground. A tall, pudgy boy shoved her and took the ball she had been bouncing. She glared at him, and suddenly the ball popped, prompting the boy, obviously a Muggle, to scream and run away. Albus chuckled, and was actually eager to see what happened next, but he felt himself being thrown from her thoughts.

She was seventeen and standing in front of a full length mirror in a room of the castle that Albus did not recognize. She morphed into a cat, then back into herself, then back into a cat, then back… again, he felt himself forced out.

Again, he saw her at seventeen, sitting across from him, contemplating her next chess move. He saw her realize that she was trapped, but before the memory of him could call 'Checkmate,' she knocked over the board and kissed him hard on the mouth. This time, it was he who pulled away from her head.

"That never happened, Minerva," he said, confused. She blushed a furious shade of red.

"In my fantasies it did," she explained. "I don't know how you managed to see that. I wasn't even thinking about it."

He laughed. "Let's continue, shall we? And perhaps later we could focus on a game of chess?"

Without further warning, he was inside her mind again. He managed to break into memory after memory, and each time she pushed him away before he had the chance to see or hear much of anything. It was a little like watching her life flash before his eyes.

She was meeting Cicely Sinistra for the first time.

She was opening the results of her OWLs.

She was smiling as he kissed her hand in the hallway.

She was getting slapped by her mother.

She was receiving a hug from her father.

She was playing Exploding Snap with Rolanda.

She was opening a package in the Great Hall.

She was sharing a biscuit with Poppy.

She was checking out racing brooms in Hogsmeade.

She was in the Astronomy Tower with Pomona.

She was crying alone in her dormitory.

She was kissing Tom Riddle in a motel room.

Though Albus knew he should cease, lest she end up reliving a very painful memory, he couldn't help but delve further. The surroundings were familiar to him - a room at the Black Heart Inn, a somewhat seedy establishment frequented by dark wizards and run by the great-grand nephew of former headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black. Concerned, he watched as Riddle slid his hand up Minerva's thigh, just as he, Albus, had done many times. He watched, unhappily, as he pushed her backwards onto the bed. He watched, frustrated, as she attempted to push him off. 'Please, Tom,' she said, her usually steady voice shaking. 'I don't want to…' He watched, upset, as Riddle laughed, a hollow, cheerless sound, and moved to hold her wrists together above her head. He watched, painstakingly, as she started to cry. 'Please, stop,' she said, her voice a little more forceful. 'I'm not ready. This is too much.' He watched, furiously, as she struggled against him and he watched, livid, as Tom Riddle slapped her across the face. He watched, agonizingly, as Riddle forced her skirt up around her waist.

"No!" shouted Minerva, and it took a moment for Albus to realize the voice he heard had not been inside her head. She had leapt from her chair and was shaking her head, pointing at him, green eyes flashing. "No, no. You can't see… you can't see that!"

And then he watched, heartbroken, as she collapsed into sobs on the floor of his sitting room.

* * *

_A/N If you're liking this thus far, please drop a note of encouragement in the form of a review! Critique and feedback are always appreciated, and I like to know that someone is actually reading this shiznit! lol - thanks 3_


	28. But Love is Blind

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:**

**"****But love is blind, and lovers cannot see…"**

**- The Merchant of Venice **

It was another three weeks before she would agree to try Occlumency again. In the meantime, he taught her how to perfect her corporeal Patronus, make her defensive blocking spells stronger, and perform a Revulsion Jinx. When those skills were mastered, he also taught her Peirtotus Locomotor, a spell that would cause seemingly inanimate objects to rise up and protect the caster. They practiced on a suit of armor that Albus had moved into his sitting room, and thought it was not the most practical spell she had learned, Minerva enjoyed practicing it.

Finally, five days before Christmas, Albus decided that they had better discuss what had happened, though she had previously refused to do so, in order to move forward. He waited until after dinner, when they were alone in his chambers preparing to play a game of Wizards Chess.

"We need to keep working on it, Minerva," he said, and she did not need to ask what the 'it' referred to.

"I've told you, I can't," she said quietly, staring down at her lap. She was wearing her new burgundy and navy blue robes, sent by her mother as an early Christmas gift. The attached note had read, 

_Minerva. I trust you're doing well as I obviously have not heard otherwise. I decided to go on holiday with Mariah, Cormac, and the children. We will be spending the next two weeks in the south of France. You are welcome to join us if you'd like. McKayla has also extended an invitation for you to travel with her family to Greece for ten days. I assume that you will turn down both offers and remain at Hogwarts. That's just as well. I shall tell your sisters that you are too busy with your work and studies to get away at the moment. I hope that's true. I truly hope that you have not abandoned your education, and with it, your future, for something more immediately gratifying. Have a lovely Christmas, dear. Be good. Love, Mother._

Though Minerva found the tone of her mother's letter a bit off-putting, she was thrilled to learn that she was not expected at the home of either sister over break, and equally thrilled that it appeared her mother intended to keep what she knew of their affair a secret.

Minerva found herself lost in thought regarding the robe, the note, and the holiday, but Albus interrupted her reverie by gently taking her hands in his and lifting them up to his lips for a quick kiss.

"I'm going to use Legillimency on you again, Minerva. And this time I will be looking for that memory in particular."

Her deep green eyes widened with surprise, then narrowed with anger. Before she could speak he put a finger to her lips.

"Tell me," he said, "Do you want me to see that particular memory?"

She pulled away from him. "Absolutely not."

"Excellent. Then you will be highly motivated." Though she was furious, she had to admit he had a point. And she knew, sooner or later, it would have to happen. With a sigh, she resigned herself to accept the 'sooner.'

"Very well, Albus."

Without further adieu, he was inside her head, searching. He could tell that she was trying to keep him at bay, but her powers of Occlumency were not yet a match for his powers of Legillemency. Suddenly he could see the Black Heart Inn. He could see Minerva and Riddle on the bed. He could see Riddle sliding his hand up her thigh…

Then, just as suddenly as his infiltration of her thoughts, he was seeing something entirely different. He was seeing an argument over a casket. He was seeing a fist flying in his direction. He was seeing stars, then darkness.

He was seeing the young woman standing in his office, pointing her wand at him and smiling.

"I did it!" she cried, lowering her wand. "I got you out."

"Yes," he agreed, trying to control his breathing. "Yes, you did."

She made her way over to him and slipped her slender arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her in response. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and wondered if she could feel it too.

"I made my way into your head again, didn't I?" she asked. He confirmed with a nod. "What did I see?"

"My sister's funeral," he answered quietly. Aberforth, my younger brother, he was angry with me. We got into a bit of a row. That was the first time my nose got broken."

"Why?" she asked quietly, realizing for the first time how little she knew of his past. He led her by the hand to his couch and she settled comfortably against him.

"It's a very long story. Suffice it to say, another memory I am not particularly proud of. My brother blamed me for the death of our younger sister. I think he still does, actually, though we speak to each other now. We were young and stupid. I was your age, as a matter of fact."

"Are you implying that people my age are stupid?" she asked, but he could tell she was teasing.

"I love you, Minerva," he whispered, landing a kiss to her temple.

She smiled. "Safe answer."

Four nights later, most of the students had gone home for the holiday, and Albus was readying himself for the Annual Staff Party. Dippet had suggested that he bring Minerva along rather than leave her alone, pointing out that she was technically no longer a student and he saw no problem with including her in the festivities. Outwardly, Albus simply thanked the Headmaster and offered to relay the invitation, but inside he was conflicted. Part of him felt more excited about the party than he had felt in years because he knew he would enjoy it far more with her there, but part of him was nervous about his ability to keep their relationship quiet in such close proximity of everyone else, on a night when the merriment, and the Firewhiskey, would surely be flowing freely.

"I won't get drunk," Minerva assured him before returning to her room to get ready. "I won't even get tipsy. No one will know a thing!"

Minerva could hardly hide her excitement as she dressed and fixed her hair that evening. She pulled it up into two long French braids and tied a ribbon in the end of each, then decided that the look was far too young, took it down, and pulled her hair into a bun. She decided that look was far too stuffy, took it down, and decided to wear it more naturally, just pinning it back with a red and gold hairpin that Poppy had given her for Christmas two years prior. Albus told her that most of the staff would be dressed up; some in Muggle attire, others in more traditional robes. Minerva picked out a simple but stylish dark red dress that hugged her figure. It had a thick black belt around the waist, a belt that cinched her in and gave her the appearance of an hourglass figure despite her naturally thin frame and (she thought despairingly) her rather small chest. The bottom of the dress puffed out a little and covered her down to her mid-calf. She knew she looked attractive, and hoped she looked grown up. She applied a little makeup, a gift from Cicely last year, and then she was ready. With a deep breath she exited her chambers and made her way to the staff room, hoping beyond hope that Albus would already be there. They had agreed not to arrive together, which Minerva knew made sense, but she was anxious about it.

"Minerva, dear, how are you!" a voice exclaimed to her right. Minerva turned to see Septima Vector, Arithmancy professor, making her way towards the doorway where the young girl stood. "Do come in! Armando told me you would be joining us for this little soiree, and I couldn't be happier. It's nice not to be the youngest woman in the room for a change!" Septima Vector said with a little laugh. Minerva smiled, instantly feeling more at ease. "From what I've heard from your professor Dumbledore, it won't be long before you're one of us, eh, Minerva?" the Arithmancy teacher continued. Minerva took a moment to look her over, mentally noting that the twenty-something witch was wearing a similarly styled dress in Ravenclaw bronze and blue. "He says you show a talent and brilliance he has not seen in a Transfiguration pupil since his own days of studying here at Hogwarts. I asked what you plan to do with your talent, there's really a lot of demand for Transfiguration masters, you know, and especially for Animagi, and he told me you'd like to have his job someday. Good for you, dear!" Minerva laughed, somewhat surprised by the demeanor of this professor she hardly knew. Minerva had not chosen to take Arithmancy in her third year because the professor at the time was a stuffy, formidable old coot, famous for taking points and assigning detentions for the smallest transgressions, a headache she (and Poppy) were not willing to deal with. Perhaps Minerva would have changed her mind about the class had she known that he would be retiring in her fifth year and replaced by such a charismatic young witch.

"Thank you, Professor Vector," Minerva answered with a smile, but the other woman shook her head vehemently.

"Oh no, Minerva, please, call me Septima. It's my name, you're not a student, and besides, this is a party! Now, let me show you to the refreshments table. We have a little of everything, the House Elves do take such good care of us, but if there's something you want and don't see you only need to ask for it. Ask, and ye shall receive! Alright?"

Minerva smiled comfortably. "Alright!"

For several minutes more Minerva chatted with Septima, who, as it turns out, was a twenty-eight year old mathematics genius, a former Ravenclaw (as suspected), Muggle-born, and divorced with no children. After awhile the pair were joined by Muggle Studies professor Dominique Kessel and Astronomy professor Aloysius Orion, who had his arm around the aforementioned's waist.

Half an hour after Minerva's appearance at the gathering, Albus still hadn't arrived, and though she looked forward to (eventually) seeing him, Minerva surprisingly found that she did not mind being left 'alone.' Rarely in her youth had she given any thought to the private or personal lives of her professors, save for the couple of rare moments when gossip would hit the student body, like the alleged Merrythought-Dippet affair and the time Professor Kettleburn went to his early morning Care of Magical Creatures class clearly nursing a hangover. But this evening, in addition to getting to know Septima, Minerva was learning all sorts of things about the people she saw every day for seven years and rarely really thought about.

"I've asked her to marry me at least eleven times now," Aloysius Orion confided in Minerva with a cheeky grin, nodding towards Dominique Kessel. "She always says no."

"And I will continue saying no, Aloysius, until your wife either leaves you or kicks it," she retorted, eliciting a little gasp from Minerva.

Aloysius chuckled. "Don't worry, Minerva. My wife doesn't feel threatened by Dominique at all. She's an exceptionally talented witch, and we both know she could hex me into next week if I actually tried anything untoward with anyone, ever. But I've known Dom since we were six, and I asked her to marry me for the first time less than a year later, it's all harmless fun." With that, he kissed Dominique on the cheek and excused himself to get more punch.

"I half wish he was serious," Dominique whispered to Minerva and Septima. "Merlin knows no one else is asking!"

"Only because you're too damn picky, Dominique, and you never give anyone a proper chance," chastised Septima with a grin. "I mean, look at you. Sure, you're a little long in the tooth, but you're still a relatively attractive woman!"

"Oh, gee, thanks ever so much Septima! I'll have you know I'm barely a decade older than you are! And I look damn good, if you ask me!" As if to prove her point, Dominique gave a little twirl. She was wearing a black formfitting jacket over a silvery-gray chemise, and a sharp black pencil skirt. Before Septima could respond, another voice joined the conversation.

"I think that you are all looking lovely this evening," said the voice, and Minerva felt her cheeks flush.

"Albus!" called Armando Dippet from across the room, where he had been sampling the desserts with Horace Slughorn and the Pomfreys. "What kept you?"

"The Ministry, unfortunately. But everything is settled now and I am looking forward to a relaxing evening with friends. How have you been fitting in, Minerva?" His twinkling blue eyes met her sparkling green ones and he was overcome with the desire to kiss her right then and there, a desire he surpassed, albeit with difficulty, as he silently reminder to himself to avoid the alcohol.

"Don't worry about your young protégé, Albus," Septima answered for her. "She's fitting in just fine. We are already plotting ways for her to steal your job so that she can become a permanent fixture around here. Not that we love you any less than ever before, darling!"

Albus and Minerva laughed, and Dominique rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous, Septima."

An hour and a half later, Albus had quite forgotten his personal promise, though he was certainly not the only person in the room doing a little more drinking than usual. Minerva's cheeks were very pink. Horace's face was rather red. Dominique's nose resembled that of Rudolph the reindeer. Even Heckle and Prudence Pomfrey had each consumed a couple of glasses of champagne. That was when Septima noticed the mistletoe.

"It's right above your heads, you know," she pointed out. Albus and Minerva looked up.

"Ah," he said, pushing his glasses up a little. "So it is." He leaned over and placed a very chaste, very platonic, very dull kiss on Minerva's forehead.

"Ohh, Albus, such passion! Such scandal!" Septima teased sarcastically. "I mean, if you go around kissing the girl like that, people might think there's something going on!"

"Uh, well, um, I… excuse me?" he stammered uncharacteristically lost for words, presumably the fault of the liquor, and perhaps in part due to a guilty conscience.

"I'm ribbing you, Albus. Loosen up."

"Yes, Albus," said Minerva, her voice low. She pressed herself close to him just for a moment. "Loosen up."

Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the holiday atmosphere. Maybe it was the way her hair shimmered in the light when she left it down. Maybe it was the way her dress clung to her curves. Maybe it was just a moment of insanity.

But he loosened up.

He cupped her face with his right hand and slipped his left around her waist. He closed the gap between them, tenderly touching his lips to hers. His mouth barely parted, as did hers. The kiss was brief, and gentle, and yet it ignited a fire in the pit of her stomach that she had never quite felt before. When he pulled back she drew in a sharp breath and stared at him wide eyed.

"Was that better?" he asked quietly. Minerva couldn't answer, but Septima could.

"Much!" she exclaimed, also looking a little breathless.

Dominique agreed. "That was like something out of a movie!" she said, which of course required an explanation for most of the staff. Soon everyone was engaged in chats about Muggle film and whether it was a worthy art form, and no one seemed to remember the kiss Albus and Minerva had shared.

No one, except for Albus and Minerva, of course.

Suddenly, neither of them could wait for the party to end.

* * *

A/N: _Pencil skirts weren't actually popular until after WWII, so I'm putting them in a little early, but honestly, I like the way they look, and that's what I picture the Muggle Studies teacher wearing to a party, so… Let's just assume that witches are ahead of the fashion curve. lol_

_A/N 2: So… as you can tell, this is a pretty fluffy chapter. I hope that's okay! I figured they deserve a little fluff every now and again, especially since there's more drama looming just around the corner. Stay tuned! And thanks again for all of your reviews and story alerts! :) _


	29. Forever and a Day

**Chapter 29**

**Forever and a Day.**

**- As You Like It**

The first person to leave the party was none other than Headmaster Armando Dippet.

"I am simply exhausted," he explained. "But I implore all of you to stay and have fun!" After bidding farewell to each staff member in turn, he exited through the door, followed less than two minutes later by Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Galatea Merrythought.

"Not exactly the best at keeping secrets, eh?" Septima whispered to Minerva as they watched Professor Merrythought take her leave.

Though Minerva had, like every other student, heard the rumors about the two of them she feigned innocence. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, don't play me Miss McGonagall," said Septima. She chuckled. "You'd have to be blind not to notice."

Albus left the party a short time later, just after midnight, claiming exhaustion. He turned and waved adieu to the staff room full of tipsy teachers calling "Goodnight!" "Farewell!" "Happy Christmas!" and "Sleep well!" careful not to catch Minerva's eye, for fear that something would give them away. He was a little worried that Minerva might not be able to keep their secret were she to consume any more alcohol, so he advised her to get herself to bed lest she be sorry in the morning.

The others, of course, assumed that he was referring to the hangover she would be likely to be nursing, but Prudence Pomfrey picked up on Albus' underlying meaning.

"Minerva, perhaps Professor Dumbledore is right. You've had quite a bit of the punch, and it's very late. I think you should be heading back to your room.

"Oh, quit fussing over the girl! She's not a kid anymore, Prudence," admonished Septima, followed by a hiccough and a giggle. "She's just having a good time, that's all! It's a party, Prudence. And the girl's a Scot. I'm sure she can hold a bit of liquor, eh, Minerva?"

Minerva smiled, tempted to get another drink and prove to everyone that she was absolutely no longer a child, but then her mind flashed back to that kiss under the mistletoe and suddenly she was itching to part company.

"He's such a fascinating man," Dominique said to the other two women in a low voice as Cressida Larkspur-Normington made her way over to join them.

"We talking about Dumbledore?" Cressida asked, also keeping her voice down. "I can tell by the way Dom's eyes lit up."

"Shut it, Larkspur," snapped Dominique. She turned to Minerva. "Don't listen to her."

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. There's no hope there. He's unattainable. I believe he's… you know… _flighty_. You know what I mean." Cressida smiled warmly at Minerva. "I never had you in my class, dear, but of course I know all about you, thanks to my husband, and, of course, the inner eye. My husband Frederick took over teaching Charms after your father met his untimely demise. Head Girl, on the Quiddich team, a master of Transfiguration. Of course, I knew from the moment you set foot in Hogwarts that you would be immensely successful, at the expense of any possible social life. It is difficult to be a bookworm, my dear, and it may do you well to step outside yourself every now and again so as to avoid getting lost in academia."

"What do you mean by flighty?" asked Minerva, trying to control the urge to roll her eyes at the Divination professor.

"He had quite the reputation with women in the past, but never anything serious, and honestly, I am positive that those little dalliances were meant as much as a distraction as anything else. If he always has a different woman on his arm, the general public will assume that he's a bit of a ladies man, rather than a man with no true interest in ladies. Understand?"

"I think I catch your meaning," Minerva said, fighting the desire to laugh. "I'm sorry, but I really ought to be headed to bed," Minerva said, eliciting a disappointed groan from Septima. Horace meandered over to the cluster of women, sipping his drink as he walked.

"The night's still young, Minerva!" Septima argued, but Horace placed his hand on her arm and shook his head.

"Minerva has the right idea. I think it may be time for me to retire as well," he said.

"Yes," agreed Septima. "Please, do retire. Then Minerva can have your job and we can keep Albus teaching Transfiguration."

"Har har har!" he chortled heartily. He placed a sloppy kiss on Septima's cheek and a second, equally sloppy kiss on Minerva's right hand, and with a tip of his hat to Cressida and Dominique he was gone.

Dom waved goodbye and laughed, causing cookie crumbs to spray from her mouth in a rather undignified matter. "Oh, that man! I think he left an ounce of saliva on your cheek, Septima."

Septima laughed. "And now your flying cookie crumbs are sticking to it! Classy, Dom!"

"What can I say? I'm a gen-u-ine classy broad."

Minerva giggled, impressed by the Muggle Studies Professor's funny accent. It must have been something she picked up while watching those movies! "I'm having a wonderful time, but I really should be off to bed," Minerva said again with an apologetic shrug. This time Septima let her leave with a little hug rather than an attempt to convince her to stay.

Fifteen minutes later, after Minerva had said her goodbyes to everyone else still milling about the staffroom, including Mr. and Madam Pomfrey, she made her way down the hall to Albus' chambers. Glancing around to make sure that no one else was within sight, she whispered the password and was granted entry to his private rooms.

"Albus!" she called. "I'm here, and it's officially Christmas Day! Shall we celebrate? Albus? Albus?"

Minerva glanced around but did not see him. _He must be in the bedroom_, she thought a little wickedly. She made her way to the bedroom door and flung it open. Sure enough, there was Albus, lying on the bed.

Sound asleep.

Minerva smiled, her green eyes twinkling. She removed her hairpin and ran her fingers through her long dark hair, gently pulling apart some of the tangles. Quietly to avoid waking him, she slipped out of the dark red dress and let it pool at her feet on the floor. Wearing just her bra and panties she slipped into bed beside him.

"Albus?" she whispered. His eyelids fluttered, but he did not wake. "Happy Christmas."

* * *

The couple slept until ten-thirty the next morning and were in no hurry to leave the bed when they awoke.

Finally, shortly after noon, Minerva insisted that they have a little lunch and exchange gifts. She stood and stretched, reaching for her navy and cerulean terrycloth bathrobe, which was hanging in its usual spot on the bedpost. She couldn't help but smile at the realization that the room had in many ways become _theirs_ since she 'moved out' at Dippet's insistence.

"Gifts?" he exclaimed, sitting up in bed. "I was supposed to get you a gift?"

Minerva froze halfway to the door. After about a second she slowly turned to face him. Her eyebrows were furrowed, though he couldn't tell if she was feeling shock, anger, or hurt.

"Well, it's just… I just thought…" the young witch stammered.

"Good thing I remembered to go shopping that Saturday you spent in Hogsmeade with Poppy," he continued, his bright blue eyes glittering in the candlelight.

"Oh! You!" With a flick of her wrist, a spark flew from her wand. Albus flinched, and covered his face just in time, as pillows levitated from the bed and pummeled him.

"Ouch, Minerva, my glasses!" he exclaimed, but he was laughing. "Call them off! I'm no match for your charms!"

"Not until you apologize, sir!"

"I apologize, I apologize! I'm sorry!"

With a second flick of her wrist, the pillows fells back to the bed. Albus' righted his glasses on his nose. "I must remember not to make you angry again!"

"Yes," she concurred. "You must! Now, if you don't mind, I am going to your sitting room to get your present, and when I get back in here, I expect you to woo me. Understand?"

He nodded gravely. "Prepare to be wooed, Mademoiselle."

When she returned Albus was still seated on the bed, still wearing his clothes from the night before. Minerva climbed onto the bed and positioned herself in front of him, knees bent, backside resting on her heels.

"I hope you like this…" she said almost shyly.

"Is it a book?" he asked. Her eyes widened.

"No, why? Did you want a book? I can get you a book!"

He couldn't help but laugh at her earnest expression. "Quite the opposite, my dear. People usually insist upon buying me books. Apparently they assume that all intellectual people needed something new to read every December twenty-fifth. And while I do enjoy curling up with a good novel when I have the time, hardly anyone sends me poetry or works of fiction. Rather, they assume that I am just dying to peruse the latest text about Transfiguration or Charms or Ancient Wizarding History. I appreciate the sentiment, but I like to think I'm more than simply academic. I have other interests."

"Oh?" Minerva asked coyly, straddling him, leaning forward until their lips were nearly touching. "What interests you, Albus?"

He moved as if to close the gap between. "Right now? I am interested in only one thing, my beautiful Minerva."

"And that is?"

"Opening my present, of course!"

Minerva fell back to land on her bottom and laughed. "You're a ridiculous man! But since you asked nicely… here you go."

It was a small box wrapped in shiny red paper, tied up with a glittery gold bow. He unwrapped it carefully. "Ooh, Minerva, it's a box! I love it! Just what I've always wanted. I can keep my Sherbet Lemons in here."

"But wait, there's more!" She took the little wooden box and opened it, then handed it back to him.

"Socks! How did you know?"

"Are you teasing me again, Albus?" she asked, resting her hand just above his knee.

"No! I'm genuinely not! I always need socks." He took them from the box to look them over more closely. They were soft and warm and striped with all the colors of the rainbow in order of the spectrum. He genuinely couldn't wait to wear them.

"I know. You have mentioned your need for new and decent socks at least a dozen times in the last three months. But I chose that pair because they seemed to fit you. Bright, unique, but decorated in the most organized possible fashion. Oh, and I really loved the way they feel on the inside. Go on, reach in. Give them a feel."

He did, and to his surprise felt something like rough paper inside. He reached in again with two fingers and pulled out the foreign object. "What's this?"

"Tickets! I got us tickets to a Muggle theatre in London, the Globe. It's the theatre where that playwright used to do all of his work."

"William Shakespeare," he supplied. "How did you know I enjoy Shakespeare?"

"You have several of his plays on your private bookshelves, and two copies of his complete works, one in your sitting room and the other in your office. I opened one of the plays a few weeks ago, when you were at a staff meeting, and saw that you had made all sorts of notations in the margins. It was obvious from your notes that you love the show, so I did some research and by chance it happens to be playing at the Globe on New Year's Day!"

Still in awe, he glanced down to read the name on the tickets. "'As You Like It.' One of my absolute favorites, Minerva! It's a romantic comedy about an unlikely couple. The main characters are a bit like us, I suppose, except that he's young and athletic and you're much more beautiful."

"Flatterer."

"It's absolutely true. Minerva, this is an incredibly thoughtful gift, and I love it. I love you. I cannot wait to take you to see 'As You Like It.' I only hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!"

"I'll enjoy it just knowing that it makes you happy." At the same time, they leaned in and pressed their lips together in a tender kiss. Before it could become too heated, he broke their connection and placed a quick kiss to her nose.

"Speaking of making each other happy, I hope you will like what I have for you. A considerable amount of thought went into purchasing what I thought would be the closest to perfect for my beautiful Minerva."

From beneath the covers he pulled out a box. It was not wrapped, but no wrapping was necessary as the box itself was made of beautiful dark stained wood, into which a design was carved. Minerva held it up to see it up close. She smiled when she realized that the design was a kitten batting at a flower on which a hummingbird was resting.

"You must have had this made," she said, her eyes filling with grateful tears.

"Don't cry yet, my dear. You don't know what's inside. It could be candy, or diamonds, or Cornish Pixies."

"Ha! If it's full of Cornish Pixies I shall definitely shed a tear or two!"

"Open it and find out."

She slid the top off the box and placed it on the bed beside them. Inside, lying on a folded pale blue silk scarf, was a thin silver chain. She lifted it and gasped when she realized that dangling from it was a ring. A small silver ring with a cushion cut ruby nestled between two small diamonds.

"I can't marry you," he said quietly, trying to gauge her reaction, "but I am committed to you, and I wanted to give you something to symbolize that commitment. Look at the inside."

Without a word she lifted it to see what he wanted her to. It was an inscription, in cursive. It read _Forever and a Day. _

"It's Shakespeare," he informed her, unsure of whether she would know. "I've always liked that quote, and I thought it fit us. It's from 'As You Like it,' by some marvelous coincidence, and it's always been one of my favorite lines. It's just so…" he glanced down at his hands. "Romantic."

"Shakespeare," she whispered, still staring wide-eyed at the ring.

"Great minds think alike, I suppose," he said.

"Yes," she agreed, still whispering, still staring.

"Do you… like it?" he asked. She could hear a twinge of anxiousness in his voice. Finally she pried her eyes away from the silver, the ruby, the diamonds, and the inscription.

"Like it?" Minerva repeated quietly. "Albus! Albus, I'm speechless!"

"You?" he asked. "Speechless? That's something new! But what does it mean?"

"What does it mean?" she echoed. "Oh, Albus, it means that I love it! I absolutely, completely, really and truly love it! And I love you! I am so in love with you."

He took the necklace from her and unclasped it, then reached behind her to clasp it around her neck. She slid her arms around his waist and he did the same to hers, pulling her closer until she was lying on top of him. Though he still felt guilty about his inability to commit to her through marriage or even a public relationship, his heart swelled with the joy that resulted in making her so happy.

* * *

_AN - I was going to go back to darker stuff with this chapter, but then I thought - why not let them enjoy Christmas? So here's another chapter of fluff (with some awkward words from the Divination professor) and there's a good chance that the next chapter will be pretty fluffy too, as they go to the show... and then I can get back to what I like the most: ANGST! DRAMA! TRAGEDY! M-Rated LEMONS! lol _

_Thanks for reading! As always, I appreciate any and all reviews. :-) *AL_


	30. When I think, I must speak

**Chapter 30**

**Do ****you**** not know I ****am a woman****? When I ****think****, I must ****speak****.**

**- As You Like It**

A week later, Minerva and Albus left Hogwarts at ten-thirty am. They walked to Hogsmeade and from there were able to apparate to Diagon Alley. From there they crossed into Muggle London. They found an intimate French café and ordered a late breakfast: a small stack of crepes with a layer of whipped cream cheese folded in between each one, all smothered in fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

"This is delicious!" Minerva exclaimed after she's swallowed her first bite.

"Heavenly," Albus agree. "This is one of my favorite places. They also have excellent Eggs Florentine and incredible smoked salmon. Next time we come to London, there's a place about a five minute walk away that I would love to take you to, Paddy Mulligan's. They might even have the corned beef hash back on the menu. It was taken off during the war."

"That would be wonderful," she said before lifting another fork full of berries to her lips.

A few short hours later, the pair entered Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. At two pm the lights dimmed, signifying time for the matinee to begin. A handsome young man in Elizabethan attire entered first, followed by an elderly gentleman strumming a lute. Minerva was immediately enraptured. Though it took a little while to get used to listening to the original language, she followed the play well (of course, it helped to have read it already). Albus watched, also captivated, leaning forward slightly. He rested his elbows on his knees, interlaced his fingers, and rested his chin against his extended forefingers.

Though the show was fascinating, Minerva found herself enjoying watching Albus watch the play, rather than watch it herself. They had dressed like Muggles, more or less, in order avoid standing out in public. He was therefore wearing wide legged, pleated tan slacks, a dark blue button down shirt that brought out the shine in his eyes, and a black wide brimmed Homburg, the hat that had gained popularity in the 1930s. Though he had removed his hat in the theatre and placed it in the coatroom with thick black winter coat that fell almost to his knees, Minerva couldn't help but smile recalling how dapper he'd looked. He'd even magically shortened his auburn beard quite a bit, though she had assured him it was unnecessary, as he was certain that respectable Muggle men did not let their facial hair grow to their navels.

Minerva left her hair long but pulled it into a French braid, held in place with a pearly white ribbon. She borrowed a little makeup from Cicely, who showed her how to highlight her eyes and lips dramatically without making her look cheap. She wore a simple, classic knee-length dark grey skirt, and a pale pink blouse, also borrowed from Cicely, who explained that her maternal grandmother sent her conservative clothing every Christmas in hopes it would inspire her to dress more like a lady. "Keep them, they look better on you anyway," the younger girl has told Minerva. She wore a long, soft fur coat, borrowed from Dominique Kessel, whom she'd confided that she was headed to Muggle London, but she did not supply a reason. Being in the fur coat reminded her a little of being in her Animagus form, which caused a confusing conflict of emotion, as she felt both comfortable and awkward, and possibly a little guilty. 'Ah well,' she'd told herself. 'It's one day.' She wore her ruby ring necklace, of course, and was glad for the chance to show it off.

"Is 'Old Dog' my reward?" the old man on the stage was lamenting. "Most true, I have lost my teeth in your service. God be with my old Master! He would not have spoke such a word!"

Without taking his eyes from the actors, Albus leaned a little to his right to whisper to Minerva. "While I do not usually compare human servants to house-elves, you'll see as you watch that the same reasons apply in regards to why one should treat his inferiors just as well as his superiors." On stage, two of the actors were exiting. "I've always felt that Shakespeare was a little ahead of his time in that regard. Same goes for his treatment of women in many of his works. They're smart, driven, powerful. There has been endless rhetoric, criticisms, and arguments on the issue of Shakespeare's women, but I feel that he genuinely appreciated and valued his female counterparts. Perhaps that is why Queen Elizabeth was said to have been such a fan."

"Can you tell if Rosalind, the duke's daughter, be banished with her father?" one of the men was asking the other.

"That's Oliver, Orlando's brother," Albus whispered. "They get along much as I do with Aberforth, but like my brother and I, they do care for each other deep down. Or, at least, that's what I prefer to believe."

Minerva nodded, dying to ask more about his brother and their relationship of which she knew so very little, but Albus said not another word for over an hour.

Minerva soon found herself falling in love with both of the play's protagonists, handsome Orlando, a young romantic who passed his time in the Forest of Arden carving sappy poetry on the bark of every tree he could possible mark as a symbol of his love, and Rosalind, a strong-willed, charming girl masquerading as a boy, exiled from the home of her uncle, the usurping Duke, and acting as travelling companion to her cousin Celia.

"Hang there, verse, in witness of my love!" exclaimed Orlando, just before kissing the bark of the tree on which his most recent poem was displayed. Minerva found herself wondering about everyone and everything on - and off - the stage. Changing scenes, sound effects, realistic looking trees that couldn't possibly be real judging by the way people were able to move them all around the stage in the dark… it was all incredibly intriguing! 'How can they manage to do it without magic?' she wondered. Suddenly, and for the first time, she genuinely regretted not having taken Muggle Studies!

Corin, a simple minded middle age shepherd, entered as Orlando exited. He was followed by the high energy and almost flamboyant servant Touchstone, who had been living as a shepherd ever since fleeing with the exiled girl and her cousin, daughter of his former master.

"How are you liking this shepherd's life, Master Touchstone?" Corin asked, settling himself on a tree stump.

Touchstone sighed and stroked his beard a moment before answering.

"Truly, shepherd, in respect of itself, it is a good life, but in respect that it is a shepherd's life, it is naught. In respect that it is solitary, I like it very well; but in respect that it is private, it is a very vile life. Now, in respect it is in the fields, it pleaseth me well; but in respect it is not in the court, it is tedious. As is it a spare life, look you, it fits my humor well; but as there is no more plenty in it, it goes much against my stomach. Hast any philosophy in thee, shepherd?"

"He reminds me a little of you," Minerva murmured in Albus' ear. He did not reply, but the corners of his lips turned up.

"No more but that I know the more one sickens the worse at ease he is; and that he that wants money, means, and content is without three good friends; that the proprty of rain is to wet and fire to burn; that good pasture makes fat sheep, and that a great cause of the night is lack of the sun!"

"He also reminds me a little of you," she whispered, and this time he could not help but chuckle.

Soon Touchstone and Corin exited, and the stage lights faded to black. After a moment the lights in the theatre brightened on an empty stage, signifying intermission.

"I love it, Albus!" Minerva exclaimed as soon as the voices of contended audience members began to rise up in the theatre.

"I do not think you're alone in that, my dear! The show seems to be very well received thus far. And why shouldn't it be? It is both a wonderful script and a well done production."

"Have you seen many plays?" she asked, wondering silently why she hadn't thought to ask that question before.

"Not as many as I would like, but I try to catch one or two a year, both here and at various wizarding theatres. The last one I saw was, unfortunately, about two years ago, due to my commitments to the school and the Ministry during the last eighteen months of the war."

"What did you see? Was it another Shakespeare show?"

"No, though I have seen many of his plays performed. The last one was a production of 'A Doll's House' by Henrik Ibsen. I think you would like it. It's another of my favorites."

"If you could take me to see any play, which would it be?" Minerva asked, itching to find a schedule of shows for the upcoming year. Not only was she enjoying the show, but it was the first time she'd been out in public with Albus, and though they hadn't exactly snogged in the streets, he wasn't denying her either. They had held hands while walking through the city, and sat close together, his right leg pressed comfortably against her left. At one point she actually rested her hand just above his knee, and he placed his hand over hers in response, using his thumb to rub small circles against the skin between her pinky-knuckle and wrist.

"Macbeth," he answered, without hesitation. "Also known as 'The Scottish Play,' because it is thought that a curse makes it bad luck to utter the title character's name in a theatre. There are four witches in it, and it is rumoured that their lines are from the spells of actual witches who lives long ago, but that's not why it captivates me. It's about ambition, and what too much of it can do to a person. I'd be interested to get your take on it… and I think it might help you to connect with me a little more. No one truly understands why I've turned down the Minister of Magic position, twice now actually, and I never thought anyone would. But that was before, well, you."

"And you think this play, Macbeth, would help me to understand it?"

"This may sound ridiculous, Minerva, but it helped _me_ to understand it. But enough about me. Who's your favorite character thus far? I've always rather liked Touchstone. Perhaps this means I'm a bit of an egomaniac, though, since you seem to think he and I are similar. Ah, but there I am talking about myself again! I am also enjoying the performance of the girl playing Celia. Usually that character is one of my least favorites, but the actress is talented and engaging."

Minerva kissed him on the cheek. "I adore you, Albus. And I don't think you're an egomaniac, though I do think Touchstone could be your long-lost brother! Or perhaps a cousin."

Albus laughed. "Just wait until you see him in the second half!"

The lights dimmed shortly thereafter, and the second half of the show began.

The entire audience laughed as Celia attempted to explain to her cousin Rosalind that the man writing poetry and carving her name into trees was none other than Orlando, the handsome boy she'd met prior to her exile, but it was a difficult task as the love-struck girl often interrupted.

"I would sing my song without a burden: thou bringest me out of tune!" snapped Celia goodnaturedly, prompting Rosalind to reply, "Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak!"

"Suddenly, Minerva, she reminds me of you," Albus whispered. Minerva glared at him for a second, but couldn't keep up an angry façade and broke into a grin.

"Hush, Touchstone," Minerva ordered him quietly. "Or I shall have you flogged for your impertinence."

Albus nodded, eyes twinkling characteristically. "That could be fun."

"Oh, you!" she whispered, swatting his arm. He took her hand, kissed it, then lowered it into his lap and held it between both of his hands. She leaned a little to the left until their upper arms were touching as they continued to enjoy the show.

A few lines later, Rosalind hopped up on the tree stump and shouted "Love is merely a madness, and I tell you, deserves as well a dark house and a whip as madmen do!"

"Speaking of flogging…" Albus murmured, in reference to their earlier conversation. Minerva actually blushed a little, but did not reply.

Just over an hour later, after mistaken identities, general confusion, a couple of sad war-related dramatic moments, several blooming and busted romances, hilarious double-entendres and an abundance of clever and beautiful wordplay, Rosalind was promising to set everyone straight.

"I have promised to make all this matter even. Keep you your word, O duke, to give your daughter; You yours, Orlando, to receive his daughter: Keep your word, Phebe, that you'll marry me, Or else refusing me, to wed this shepherd: Keep your word, Silvius, that you'll marry her. If she refuse me: and from hence I go, To make these doubts all even!"

Minerva was excited about seeing the conclusion, but at the same time, she did not want the afternoon with Albus to end, and even without attempting Legilimency, she was certain that he felt the same way.

Sure enough, Rosalind kept her promises, all of them, impossible as it seemed. After nearly three hours in the theatre, the show had reached its epilogue.

"When I make cursty," Rosalind said with a tip of her hat, "Bid me farewell!"

And with that, it was over.

Albus and Minerva stopped for dinner in London before apparating back to Hogsmeade. Throughout the meal they spoke of nothing but the show.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players," Albus quoted one of his favorite parts. "They have their entrances and their exits, and one man, in his time, plays many parts."

"Want to know my favorite line, Albus?" Minerva asked, reaching out to take his hand across the table.

"Let me guess. It was… 'Don't you know that I am woman? When I think, I must speak.' Is that right?"

"I ought to flog you right here and now for that, Albus Dumbledore!" she chastised, fighting the urge to laugh. "No, my dear romantic man, I was going to say that my favorite line was 'Forever and a day.' Surely, with your overlarge brain, you could figured that out for yourself!"

"In my defense, my dear Minerva, that was going to be my second guess."

"You're daft and I love you, Albus."

"You've got moxie, Min, and I love you too."

As they made their way from Muggle London to Diagon Alley, they discussed the flirtation of Orlando and Rosalind… and began a little flirtation of their own. By the time they had crossed back into the wizarding world, both were more than ready to be safely back in Albus' chambers.

They walked back to Hogwarts holding hands, protected from the cold by a well performed warming charm of Albus' own creation. When they were in sight of the castle door, they dropped hands and moved a step further apart, which somehow only inflated the sexual tension between them.

By the time they had reached his door, both were suffering some breathing difficulty, due as much to their uncontrollable chemistry as the bitter cold. He gave the password and the door opened. He turned his back to the door and pulled her into his office. As the door closed he slid a hand to Minerva's waist and pushed her back against the wall. Her hands slid up his chest to begin unbuttoning his coat. Their lips connected in an explosion of passion and desire, lips opening to allow for greater connection. She could feel his want for her pressing against her waist. Minerva moaned into Albus' mouth just before he pulled his lips from hers and allowed them to make their way down her neck to her shoulder, almost of their own accord. That was when Minerva heard a sound from behind her lover and opened her eyes to peer over his shoulder.

"Merlin's beard," she said in a low voice.

"What?" mumbled Albus against her collarbone.

"We're not alone."

"Excuse me?" his hand made its way up towards her breast.

"Albus," she said more urgently, grabbing his hand to prevent it from reaching its destination. His eyes met hers. He whirled around to see what had her so alarmed.

There was a man standing beside Albus' desk, a collection of parchment in his hands. His expression was blank, almost eerily so; clearly he was forcing himself to control his emotions, hiding his initial reaction, though even without hearing the man speak a single word, Albus knew that he was furious.

"Headmaster Dippet," Albus said calmly. "What brings you here?"

* * *

_A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't too dull for anyone completely unfamiliar with As You Like It. I know I could have gone with a more well known play (like Romeo and Juliet) but honestly As You Like It is SO MUCH better. Funny, romantic, dramatic… one of Shakespeare's best, in my opinion. And some of the characters/quotes will come up importantly in the future of this fic… I've got it all worked out! This is quite possibly the longest chapter I've written, so I'd love a review or two - and thanks again to those who have been giving feedback! I live for it! It's just nice to know that people are still reading. I wish I hadn't taken such a long hiatus, but I've decided to go in a new direction with this fic and I'm loving it - hope you are too, even though there hasn't been much foreshadowing yet… I hope you like where this is going! And if you haven't read or seen As You Like It, I highly recommend it. _

_-A*Lei_

_PS: Disclaimer, I don't own the quotes from the play, Shakespeare does. But he's long dead. So, technically, no one does. In any case, they weren't mine originally, as much as I wish they were!_


	31. There is Nothing Good or Bad

_**A/N This chapter is definitely M rated... just warning you :-)**_

* * *

**Chapter 31**

**There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.**

**- Hamlet**

"Professor Dumbledore," Dippet said in a voice that was too calm for comfort. "Miss McGonagall. Pardon the interruption. The Ministry needed these documents delivered immediately, and I could not reach you, Albus. I thought perhaps you'd gone on holiday. As it appears, you were merely temporarily… indisposed."

"It's not what it looks like, Sir," said Minerva, avoiding his eyes.

Dippet raised an eyebrow. "I'm quite certain it _is_, Miss McGonagall."

"I'm quite certain that you are correct, Armando," added Albus, and Minerva actually felt her cheeks redden. "But Minerva is famous for telling people that she's sure it cannot be what they think it is, even when we all know that it is precisely as we think."

"She's practically a child, Albus!" Dippet exclaimed, slamming the parchment in his hands down on the desk with a faint thud.

"I assure you, Armando, that Minerva is no child."

"She was your student! She_ is_ your student!"

"She is not a Hogwarts student. She is merely continuing her studies at Hogwarts."

"Is that… is that why you arranged… It's been a well over a decade since the last time you agreed to take someone on for Animagus training."

Albus quickly strode to his desk, facing Armando, who was on the opposite side.

"Are you asking me if I brought her here to be my mistress, Armando?"

Minerva felt her stomach flutter. How could the Headmaster think such a thing of her?

"Minerva!" snapped Albus. "I've grown rather tired of this desk."

The young witch was momentarily perplexed. "Excuse me?"

"Armando, you are going to write, on this piece of parchment, what you would like to see in place of this desk. Make it specific. Then, you will hand it to me. I will look it over to be sure it is possible. Then, without looking at the paper, Minerva will do the necessary Transfiguration."

Minerva shook her head. "But, I…"

"You can do it," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. Hurriedly Dippet scribbled something on the parchment and handed it to Albus, who continued with his instructions. "Just remember, as is true with Animagus Transfiguration, you must start by clearing your mind."

"Oh!" Minerva exclaimed, catching on.

"Really, Albus," Armando started, "What will this prove?"

"You think that I would waste time bringing a woman here for anything other than education purposes? Do you think that Miss McGonagall earned this position using something other than her incredible mind? I will show you a little of what she has learned."

And with that, he looked into her eyes, and she felt him entering her mind. Rather than force him out, as she had become accustomed to doing, she kept her head clear and empty, and waited for him to plant a false vision. Suddenly, clear as if she were seeing it right in front of her, she was looking at his desk as it changed itself. She took off her coat. She pulled out her wand. She smiled.

With a wave of her wand, using wordless magic, the desk became an ornate fountain. In the center stood a statue of a male warrior. Around the base swam a single beautiful swan.

For a long moment, no one spoke. Finally, Headmaster Dippet nodded and looked at Minerva.

"You have always been top of your class. This Transfiguration, though exceptionally advanced, does not surprise me. I am curious, however, as to how it was you managed to read my mind."

"Transfiguration is not my only talent, Sir," she said simply.

He snorted. "Clearly." She felt her cheeks flush with anger.

"I am not the kind of girl to go around sleeping my way to success, Headmaster! I will have you know that, on my NEWTS, I scored-"

Albus cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "Now you've angered her. I'd advise you to stand back. Things tend to explode when she gets terribly angry. Not on purpose, mind. She just hasn't learn to properly or completely control that particular emotion yet. We're working on it."

To illustrate his point, Minerva's non-wand hand flicked just slightly, and one of the vases on Albus's mantle shattered.

Her lover smiled at her fondly, as if she had just scored top marks on a difficult exam. "See?"

Armando sighed. "Yes, of course, I do apologize Miss McGonagall. I intended no disrespect. It's merely… a shock, that's all."

"I am sorry that you found out this way," said Albus in a calm, quiet voice.

The Headmaster nodded. "Just one thing. One question I must have answered. How long, Albus?"

"That seems to be the most important query for those very few who have discovered our secret: 'How long.'"

"If she was a student, Albus," the Headmaster began, but his Deputy interjected.

"She most certainly was not."

"She's so young, Albus. Miss McGonagall, you should be out in the world, making friends, finding your own future, meeting nice young men…"

"I'm quite content just where I am, Sir."

Dippet sighed. "If the Governors learn of this…"

"They will not. Unless you tell them. In which case I hope you would have the decorum to avoid the use of Miss McGonagall's name, as a woman's reputation is of the utmost importance in our society."

"Yes, well… of course, of course I would not… Just, please, Albus, for my own peace of mind, how long, how long exactly?"

"Only since Christmas," Albus lied, and it was Minerva's turn to raise an eyebrow. Why hadn't he told the truth? They hadn't done anything wrong!

"So this is, this was…"

"We have just returned from our very first date," Albus supplied. "Isn't that right, Minerva?"

Minerva nodded. At least that much was true. They had never been on a date prior to the matinee that afternoon!

"A relationship! Here, at Hogwarts, where anyone could discover it!"

"Is a relationship here at Hogwarts really such a foreign concept to you, Armando?" Albus blue eyes twinkled. "Shall I ask Galatea her thoughts on the matter"

"That is entirely… that is to say… nothing similar in those situations… I mean, not that there is a situa… Very well then. If _you_ keep this quiet, _I_ will. But tread carefully, won't you? If any of the Governors learn about this… or the Wizengamot… or anyone else for that matter… Albus, you will be fired. No questions asked. Understood?"

Without waiting for an answer, Armando Dippet hurried from the office, papers in hand.

Suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of emotional exhaustion, Minerva shrunk back against the wall. "You lied to him, Albus," she said weakly. "You lied."

"I know, Min. And I'm sorry if it put you in an awkward position. But what was I going to tell him? That we've been sleeping together behind his back for months? That I made love to you that night he came knocking on my door after catching your friends out of bed? That I kissed you in the hallway over the summer, when you were pregnant and vulnerable? That I had you on your back on my couch the eve I returned from fighting Grindelwald and though I stopped when you asked me to, I certainly did not want to. Should I have told him that I found myself on top of you in my bed four days later, that I held you close to me all night, that I wanted you so much it hurt? Or should I have been completely honest and revealed that I lusted after you when you were in my seventh year Transfiguration class, studying for your NEWTS. That I love the way you look so determined when facing a difficult task, biting your lip until it starts to bleed, the way your eyes light up when you find success, and how even then I wanted to…" his voice trailed off at the realization he'd confessed more than he'd ever intended.

"You noticed me when I was a student?" she asked.

"I… I'm not proud to admit that, Minerva…" He avoided her eyes but took a step forward.

"That night, in your bed, when we just slept… you wanted me then?"

"Oh, Minerva, wasn't it obvious? I'm ashamed of myself for that, too, Min. You were so… so vulnerable. Exposed, fragile. In pain. You needed comfort and reassurance and… and you did not need to be lying beside a man who had been inappropriately fantasizing about you for months…"

She reached her hand out toward him and he stretched his to meet hers. "But you didn't act on it," she pointed out, pulling him to her.

"No, I most assuredly did _not_ act on it." He allowed her to pull his hand until their intertwined fingers rested beside her thigh; their bodies nearly flush against each other. "I had no intention of taking advantage of you. But I desperately _wanted_ to. It was a struggle, every time we were near each other. I had to force myself not to pick you up and carry you to bed and show you how I felt about you. How I feel about you. And that is why I am so ashamed of myself."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Albus," she whispered.

"It was a terrible… I was terrible… I should not have been thinking about you in that way. Not then. And especially not when you were a Seventh Year. That was… for lack of a better word, Minerva, that was… bad. It was wrong."

"There is no good or bad, Albus," she countered, "But thinking makes it so."

He stepped back, away from her, just a little. "Hamlet," he said. "You certainly have been doing a lot of reading, haven't you?"

She leaned forward, just the tiniest bit. "Tonight I plan to start Act One of Macbeth."

He laughed and rested his body against hers. "I do love you."

"You know," she said quietly, her lips barely an inch from his ear. "You could have had me. Any of those times. Even when I was a student. I would have given myself to you."

"And that would have been very wrong," he countered, but she heard the way his breathing hitched a little.

"You could have given me detention," she went on. "I might have had to make up for my previous transgression by doing some sort of menial labor. Physical labor. Dusting the desk, perhaps. Straightening out your papers. Polishing the wood…"

"Minerva," he groaned. He tried to back away but her hands moved to his chest and took hold of his coat, pulling him back. He allowed her to unbutton the coat and push it off his shoulders onto the floor. "That would have been very wrong," he repeated with less conviction.

"I could have taken advantage of you, Professor. You could have been sitting in your chair, watching me work, when I'd turn and without warning slide onto your lap, in just my blouse and skirt, and I would have kissed you and you would have liked it. And we might have ended up just like this, on top of the desk, just like…"

"Min," he interjected, but rather than finish his thought he captured her lips with his in a kiss that was rougher than any the two had ever experienced together. He pressed against her, pinning her against the wall, and she elicited a moan as his mouth moved to her throat. Suddenly she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around his waist as he pushed even harder against her. She could feel his desire through his Muggle trousers and she moaned again.

"Right here," he whispered huskily. "I'm going to take you right here."

She gasped as one of his strong hands gripped her thigh and the other slid around to her lower back, between her body and the wall. "Yes, yes, please."

"I don't care if it's wrong," he said as he moved his mouth to her neck.

"There is no right or wrong," she replied, "but thinking makes it so."

"You make it, difficult, for me, to think, sometimes, Minerva," he admitted between kisses. She heard the sound of his zipper and felt his weight shift. "I need you, Minerva," he said, and in response she pressed her lips to his in another searing kiss. "Shall I take you to bed?"

"I thought you were planning to take me right here," she replied. He needed no further invitation.

He slid her skirt up to her waist and with a flick of his hand her panties disappeared. She gasped with pleasure when he entered her.

"Oh Albus," she sighed into his shoulder. "How I love you."

"I don't want to hide, Minerva," he said as he thrust into her. "I don't want you to be my secret. I want to take you to the highest tower and shout to the world that I love you. I want to put a ring on your finger and a baby in your belly and give you a home and a future and my name. I don't want you to go out and make new friends or meet nice young men; I want you to be mine, to be with me, to _stay_ with me. I've never felt this way about anyone, Minerva. Not ever. Not like this. I love you. I love you."

"I know, Albus, I know," she replied as he exploded inside her, physically and emotionally exhausting both of them. "I only want you, ever."

* * *

_**A/N**_

_**Sorry this took awhile! Lost power for over a week thanks to Hurricane Irene. Lame. Then went back to work the day after the lights came back on. Slowed me up a bit, but I'm good now. Got the next two and a half chapters almost ready for posting, though I'm tweaking things a little. I have two ways I might go with this fic. One would involve it ended in about four chapters, but leave possibility for a sequel. The other would mean it would be a bit longer, but no sequel. Or, I suppose, I could make it a lot longer and write the sequel as part of this fic. IDK. Any opinions? I'd love to hear! Thanks for reading and reviewing, and thanks for the PMs!**_

_**AL**_


End file.
